procreating
Generating new life
Procreating is producing offspring through sexual reproduction.
The word carries a clinical or formal tone, often appearing in biological, religious, or legal contexts: The church teaches that procreating is the primary purpose of marriage.
Unlike "having children," procreating emphasizes the biological act of reproduction rather than the social role of parenting.
Forming in the mind
- fertilizationGamete fusion creating zygote
- conceptionFormation of an idea
- matingReproductive pairing behavior
- copulationSexual joining of bodies
breeding · insemination · spawning · coupling · siring · fathering · mothering · impregnation
Egg discharge from ovary
- gestationCarrying offspring in womb
- embryoOrganism before birth
- zygoteFirst embryonic cell
- fetusGestating offspring
pregnancy · gametes · sperm · ovum · meiosis · mitosis · chromosomes · DNA
Coming into the world
- progenyOne's biological descendants
- youngNot yet mature
- descendantsThose who come after
- childrenYoung human beings
babies · newborn · brood · litter · hatchlings · issue · heirs · posterity
Strenuous effort; also childbirth
- deliveryConveyance of goods
- natalRelating to delivery
- neonatalOf earliest infancy
- maternityState of being pregnant
paternity · parenting · nurturing · weaning · infancy · birthing · childbearing · child-rearing
conceiving
Forming in the mind
- fertilizationGamete fusion creating zygote
- conceptionFormation of an idea
- matingReproductive pairing behavior
copulation · breeding · insemination · spawning · coupling · siring · fathering · mothering · impregnation · conjugation
ovulation
Egg discharge from ovary
fetus · pregnancy · gametes · sperm · ovum · meiosis · mitosis · chromosomes · DNA · genetics
birth
Coming into the world
- progenyOne's biological descendants
- youngNot yet mature
- descendantsThose who come after
children · babies · newborn · brood · litter · hatchlings · issue · heirs · posterity · next-generation
labor
Strenuous effort; also childbirth
maternity · paternity · parenting · nurturing · weaning · infancy · birthing · childbearing · child-rearing
pollination
Flower reproductive transfer
- cross-pollinationFertilization between different plants
- spawningReleasing eggs to reproduce
- calvingIce mass separation
foaling · whelping · budding · seeding · flowering · fruiting · proliferation · brooding · nesting · rutting
procreatingabstaining
Voluntarily doing without
nonprocreating · aborting · sterile · infertile · sterility