Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

procreate

[proh-kree-eyt]
See more synonyms for procreate on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), pro·cre·at·ed, pro·cre·at·ing.
  1. to beget or generate (offspring).
  2. to produce; bring into being.
Show More
verb (used without object), pro·cre·at·ed, pro·cre·at·ing.
  1. to beget offspring.
  2. to produce; bring into being.
Show More

Origin of procreate

1530–40; < Latin prōcreātus, past participle of prōcreāre to breed. See pro-1, create
Related formspro·cre·a·tion, nounpro·cre·a·tive, adjectivepro·cre·a·tive·ness, nounpro·cre·a·tor, nounnon·pro·cre·a·tion, nounnon·pro·cre·a·tive, adjectiveun·pro·cre·at·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

spawnproliferateoriginateimpregnateparentengendersirecreatebreedfathergeneratemotherproducepropagateconceivehatchmultiplygetbegetmake

Examples from the Web for procreate

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • He laughed at people who said that a castrato could not procreate.

    The Memoires of Casanova, Complete

    Jacques Casanova de Seingalt

  • The mother does not procreate the son; she only bears and cherishes the awakened life.

    Folkways

    William Graham Sumner

  • But in that case it is not necessary to procreate together (excuse my brutality).

  • They must get food somehow, they must sleep and wake, they must procreate.

    Do Unto Others

    Mark Clifton

  • The impulse to procreate the species is the most powerful expression of the "Will to Live."

British Dictionary definitions for procreate

procreate

verb
  1. to beget or engender (offspring)
  2. (tr) to bring into being
Show More
Derived Formsprocreant or procreative, adjectiveprocreation, nounprocreator, noun

Word Origin

C16: from Latin prōcreāre, from pro- 1 + creāre to create
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for procreate

v.

1530s, a back formation from procreation or else from Latin procreatus, past participle of procreare "to beget, bring forth" (see procreation). Related: Procreated; procreating.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
procreate in Medicine

procreate

(prō′krē-āt′)
v.
  1. To beget and conceive offspring; to reproduce.
  2. To produce or create; originate.
Show More
Related formspro′cre•a′tion n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.