Showing results for "domesticated"

• past participle of domesticate.
• past tense form of domesticate.

domesticated

American  

[duh-mes-tik-ayt-id] / dəˈmɛs tɪkˌeɪt ɪd /

adjective

1. having been domesticated; adapted over generations to live in association with humans.

---

Other Word Forms

• half-domesticated
  adjective
• non-domesticated
  adjective
• over-domesticated
  adjective
• redomesticated
  adjective
• semi-domesticated
  adjective
• undomesticated
  adjective

---

Explanation

Domesticated means trained to live or work for humans, i.e. pets and farm animals. For centuries humans have believe that dogs are domesticated wolves, but DNA testing reveals that they are in fact a different species. Domesticated comes from domus, the Latin word for home, which is easy to remember — instead of a "roof over our heads" think of your "home as a dome." Domus gives us not only domesticated (adapted to the home or the farm), but also domestic (cooking and cleaning are "domestic" chores), a domestic (someone like a maid who works inside a home as a paid employee), and domicile (a building that serves as a home). Thus domesticated means an animal tamed to live in your home — or, as some women like to joke, a man.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

domesticated

Such contradictions, that cats can be both domesticated and yet somewhat feral, is part of their appeal, says comedian Drennon Davis, whose four cats have found internet fame via his short-form videos.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

Dusky farmerfish in East Asia grow “crops” of red algae by assiduously “weeding out less palatable foods” and have effectively domesticated a type of shrimp whose waste fertilizes the algae and boosts yields.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

But there’s also some solid evidence that humans domesticated ourselves, selecting tameness over aggression.

From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2026

"Wherever dogs were first domesticated, they had already reached Europe by at least 14,000 years ago and they go on to contribute quite substantially to the dogs we see today," Bergström told me.

From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026

Whichever theory proves correct, most large wild mammal species that might otherwise have later been domesticated by Native Americans were thereby removed.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---