inseminate

/ɪnˈsemɪneɪt/ (bre, ipa) · /ɪnˈsemɪneɪt/ (ame, ipa) · /in-ˈse-mə-ˌnāt/ (ame, mw)

inseminate — verb

  • inseminatepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • inseminateshe / she / it
  • inseminatedpast simple
  • inseminating-ing form

1. to place sperm inside a female so that she can become pregnant, often using a me

1.動詞及物C1
釋義

to place sperm inside a female so that she can become pregnant, often using a medical or farming method rather than mating.

例句

The vet was hired to inseminate forty dairy cows before the spring season.

transitive: inseminate + female animal as object

Doctors at the clinic agreed to inseminate the patient using a donor's frozen sperm.

passive-ready medical context: inseminate + human patient

同義詞
  • impregnate

    broader; means simply to make pregnant, by any means

  • fertilize

    focuses on the egg being joined by sperm, not the act of placing sperm

文法句型

inseminate + object (female)

用法筆記

Subject is usually a vet, doctor, or breeder; the object is the female being made pregnant. Frequently passive (be inseminated). Most common today with farm animals and in fertility treatment.

常見錯誤

❌The bull inseminated the cow naturally in the field.
✅The bull mated with the cow in the field.
💡'inseminate' usually means a person or a method places the sperm, not the male animal itself during natural mating.
❌She wants to inseminate a baby.
✅She wants to be inseminated so she can have a baby.
💡the object is the female being made pregnant, not the baby.

2. to drop or push seeds into soil so that plants will grow there.

2.動詞及物C2
釋義

to drop or push seeds into soil so that plants will grow there.

例句

Old farming books describe how monks would inseminate the fields each autumn.

rare literary use: inseminate + field

The gardener inseminated the dark soil with rows of bean seeds.

collocation: inseminate + soil with seeds

同義詞
  • sow

    the everyday word for putting seeds in the ground

  • plant

    wider; covers seeds, young plants, or trees

反義詞
  • harvest

    to gather the grown crop, the opposite stage

文法句型

inseminate + object (ground/soil)

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: here the object is ground or soil, not a female. This meaning is rare and old-fashioned; modern writers almost always use 'sow' or 'plant' instead.