inseminate
Americanverb (used with object)
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inseminates,
present (3rd person singular)
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inseminated,
past participle, past
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inseminating
present participle
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to inject semen into (the female reproductive tract); impregnate.
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to sow; implant seed into.
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to sow as seed in something; implant.
to inseminate youth with new ideas.
verb
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to impregnate (a female) with semen
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to introduce (ideas or attitudes) into the mind of (a person or group)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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inseminatesimple
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inseminatessimple
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have inseminatedperfect
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has inseminatedperfect
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am inseminatingprogressive
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are inseminatingprogressive
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is inseminatingprogressive
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have been inseminatingperfect progressive
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has been inseminatingperfect progressive
Past
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inseminatedsimple
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had inseminatedperfect
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was inseminatingprogressive
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were inseminatingprogressive
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had been inseminatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of inseminate
First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin insēminātus, past participle of insēmināre “to implant, impregnate,” equivalent to in- “in” + sēminātus (equivalent to sēminā(re) “to sow,” derivative of sēmen “seed” + -tus past participle suffix). See in- 2; cf. semen
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A Colorado jury awarded nearly $9 million to three families who accused a fertility doctor of using his own sperm to inseminate mothers who requested anonymous donors.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 26, 2023
If successful, the work will be the first to artificially inseminate zoo ocelots with wild sperm and then repopulate the species in the wild.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 4, 2023
Semen from a Merino ram from Australia was used to artificially inseminate 35 Romney sheep on two farms in Gwynedd.
From BBC ● May 15, 2023
But the timing was crucial: Females usually lay two or three eggs and the moment one egg is laid is the right time to inseminate the next one.
From Science Magazine ● Jun. 8, 2022
Use 0.1 c.c. of the mixed liquor to inseminate each of a series of three nutrose surface plates.
From The Elements of Bacteriological Technique A Laboratory Guide for Medical, Dental, and Technical Students. Second Edition Rewritten and Enlarged. by J. W. H. (John William Henry) Eyre
If a breeder inseminates cows with semen from an infertile bull, the cows will not become pregnant.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 16, 2024
Female orcas kept captive in marine zoos can be artificially inseminated to breed more calves, which can later be used to attract more visitors and perform in shows.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2025
In Switzerland, around 800,000 cows are artificially inseminated every year.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 16, 2024
Reeves and Swanson artificially inseminated nine zoo ocelots with sperm from the wild Texas animals in 2021 and 2022, and no pregnancies resulted.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 4, 2023
In 2012, she was artificially inseminated after unsuccessful natural breeding with Tian Tian and became the first giant panda in the country to give birth after the use of frozen semen, experts said.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 30, 2022
Richalé married a girl that he had studied with, at the beginning of the same year that Dioneza was artificially inseminated.
From Scorched Earth by Walter D. Petrovic
And with each insemination costing 80 Swiss francs, that can soon eat up a breeder's budget: a typical Swiss dairy farm spends several thousand Swiss francs a year on artificially inseminating its herd of cows.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 16, 2024
Kiken is one of about a half-dozen doctors who have been publicly accused of covertly inseminating patients with their own sperm.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 19, 2020
They had collected it with the intention of artificially inseminating the females, including southern white rhinos.
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2020
As for Phoenix’s much commented-on speech, yes, OK, he talked about “artificially inseminating cows”, not a subject generally associated with the Oscars.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 10, 2020
Texas, where Emmons-Boring currently lives, passed a law earlier this year prohibiting a doctor from inseminating a woman with his own sperm without her consent.
From Fox News ● Oct. 29, 2019
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
