procreate

P3R1O1C3R1E1A1T1E1
/ˌpɹəʊkɹiˈeɪt/

verb

To beget or conceive (offsprings).

UncommonScrabble 13

Meanings

verbprocreate (third-person singular simple present procreates, present participle procreating, simple past and past participle procreated)

present singular third person procreates · participle present procreating · participle past procreated · past procreated

  1. transitiveTo beget or conceive (offsprings).
  2. transitiveTo originate, create or produce.
  3. intransitiveTo reproduce.
adjectiveprocreate (comparative more procreate, superlative most procreate)

comparative more procreate · superlative most procreate

  1. obsoleteProcreated, begotten.

    Some of these Kings, dying without procreate Heires.

    1632, William Lithgow, The totall discourse of the rare adventures & painefull peregrinations of long nineteen yeares travayles from Scotland to the most famous kingdomes in Europe, Asia and Affrica, IV. 170
    1 more example

    And furthermore, since many inconveniences have fallen, as well within this realm as in others, by reason of marrying within degrees of marriage prohibited by God's laws, that is to say, the son to marry the mother, or the stepmother, the brother the sister, the father his son's daughter, or his daughter's daughter, or the son to marry the daughter of his father procreate and born by his stepmother, or the son to marry his aunt, being his father's or mother's sister, or to marry his uncle's wife, or the father to marry his son's wife, or the brother to marry his brother's wife, or any man to marry his wife's daughter, or his wife's son's daughter, or his wife's daughter's daughter, or his wife's sister; […]

    1533–4, First Succession Act (25 Hen. 8. c. 22)
nounprocreate (plural procreates)

plural procreates

  1. obsoleteThe produce of money, interest.

    If the Paiment be half Yearly or Quarterly […] let the Log. of the Yearly Procreat be multiplied accordingly, by ¹⁄₃ or ¹⁄₂.

    1696, Samuel Jeake, Arithmetick Surveighed and Reviewed published, 578

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
Narrower
Of the mother:conceiveenwombinwombmotherwombOf the father:fathersire

verbhave offspring or produce more individuals of a given animal or plant

Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinprōcreātus
  2. Middle Englishprocreat(e)“(construed as past participle) begotten, procreated”
  3. Englishprocreate

The adjective is first attested in the first part of the 15ᵗʰ century, in Middle English, the verb in 1525; inherited from Middle English procreat(e) (“(construed as past participle) begotten, procreated”), borrowed from Latin prōcreātus, perfect passive participle of prōcreō (“to beget”), see -ate (etymology 1, 2 and 3); by surface analysis, pro- + create. Participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan procrear
  • procrearto beget
Chinese Mandarin 生育, 生殖
  • 生育 (shēngyù)to beget
  • 生殖 (shēngzhí)to beget
  • 產生 /产生 (chǎnshēng)to beget
Danish avle
  • avleto beget
Dutch verwekken
  • verwekkento beget
Finnish hedelmöittää, siittää
  • hedelmöittääto beget
  • siittääto beget
French procréer
  • procréerto beget
German zeugen, sich fortpflanzen
  • zeugento beget
  • sich fortpflanzento beget
  • sich vermehrento beget
Italian generare, procreare
  • generareto beget
  • procreareto beget
Japanese 生む, 生殖する
  • 生む (umu)to beget
  • 生殖する (seishoku suru)to beget
Latin prōcreō
  • prōcreōto beget
Romanian procrea
  • procreato beget
Russian производи́ть пото́мство, произвести́ пото́мство
  • производи́ть пото́мство (proizvodítʹ potómstvo)to beget
  • произвести́ пото́мство (proizvestí potómstvo)to beget
  • порожда́ть (poroždátʹ)to beget
  • породи́ть (porodítʹ)to beget
  • рожа́ть (rožátʹ)to beget
  • рожда́ть (roždátʹ)to beget
  • роди́ть (rodítʹ)to beget
  • производи́ть на свет (proizvodítʹ na svet)to beget
  • произвести́ на свет (proizvestí na svet)to beget
Spanish procrear, reproducirse
  • procrearto beget
  • reproducirseto beget
Swedish föröka sig, fortplanta sig
  • föröka sigto beget
  • fortplanta sigto beget
Cite this entry
APA

procreate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/procreate

MLA

“procreate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/procreate. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “procreate,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/procreate.

Source: procreate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.