rape

[reyp]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rape ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

unlawful sexual intercourse or any other sexual penetration of the vagina, anus, or mouth of another person, with or without force, by a sex organ, other body part, or foreign object, without the consent of the victim.

statutory rape.

an act of plunder, violent seizure, or abuse; despoliation; violation: the rape of the countryside.

Archaic. the act of seizing and carrying off by force.

verb (used with object), raped, rap·ing.

to commit the crime of rape on (a person).

to plunder (a place); despoil: The logging operation raped a wide tract of forest without regard for the environmental impact of their harvesting practices.

to seize, take, or carry off by force.

verb (used without object), raped, rap·ing.

to commit rape.

Origin of rape

1250–1300; (v.) Middle English rapen < Anglo-French raper < Latin rapere to seize, carry off by force, plunder; (noun) Middle English < Anglo-French ra(a)p(e), derivative of raper

Related formsrap·a·ble, rape·a·ble, adjectiverap·ist, rap·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for rapist

betrayer, debaucher, defiler, ravisher, despoiler, ravager

Examples from the Web for rapist

Contemporary Examples of rapist

Moroccan Girl Kills Herself After Judge Forces Her To Marry Her Rapist.
A Rape Victim’s Suicide Proves Morocco’s Culture of Silence Must Go
Laila Lalami
March 16, 2012
The man, who police had dubbed the Potomac Rapist, threatened to kill her before he walked out the front door.
Why Police Think D.C.'s Rapist Could Be Back
Christine Pelisek
June 13, 2011

British Dictionary definitions for rapist

rapist

noun

a person who commits rape

rape

noun

the offence of forcing a person, esp a woman, to submit to sexual intercourse against that person's willSee also statutory rape

the act of despoiling a country in warfare; rapine

any violation or abusethe rape of justice

archaic abductionthe rape of the Sabine women

verb (mainly tr)

to commit rape upon (a person)

(also intr) to plunder or despoil (a place) in war

archaic to carry off by force; abduct

Word Origin for rape

C14: from Latin rapere to seize

rape

noun

a Eurasian plant, Brassica napus, that has bright yellow flowers and is cultivated for its seeds, which yield a useful oil, and as a fodder plant: family Brassicaceae (crucifers)Also called: colza, cole

Word Origin for rape

C14: from Latin rāpum turnip

rape

noun

(often plural) the skins and stalks of grapes left after wine-making: used in making vinegar

Word Origin for rape

C17: from French râpe, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German raspōn to scrape together

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 rapist

1883, agent noun from rape (v.).

rape

late 14c., "seize prey; abduct, take by force," from rape (n.) and from Anglo-French raper (Old French rapir) "to seize, abduct," a legal term, probably from past participle of Latin rapere "seize, carry off by force, abduct" (see rapid).

Latin rapere was used for "sexually violate," but only very rarely; the usual Latin word being stuprare "to defile, ravish, violate," related to stuprum (n.), literally "disgrace." Meaning "to abduct (a woman), ravish;" also "seduce (a man)" is from early 15c. in English. Related: Raped; raping. Uncertain connection to Low German and Dutch rapen in the same sense.

rape

n.2

kind of cruciferous plant (Brassica napus), late 14c., from Old French rape, from Latin rapa, rapum "turnip," from PIE *rap- (cf. Greek hrapys "rape," Old Church Slavonic repa, Lithuanian rope, Middle Dutch roeve, Old High German ruoba, German Rübe "rape, turnip"). Usually grown to feed sheep, an oil made from it is used in cooking (see canola).

rape

n.1

early 14c., "booty, prey;" mid-14c., "forceful seizure; plundering, robbery, extortion," from Anglo-French rap, rape, and directly from Latin rapere "seize" (see rape (v.)). Meaning "act of abducting a woman or sexually violating her or both" is from early 15c., but perhaps late 13c. in Anglo-Latin.

rapist in Medicine

rape

[rāp]

n.

The crime of forcing another person to submit to sex acts, especially sexual intercourse.

v.

To commit rape on.

Related formsrap′ist n.