Meaning & use
sodomising
Last updated
“sodomising” is a form of “sodomise”.
Meaning
verbtransitivelegalvulgar
The -ing form of sodomise: having anal sex with a person, in legal reports often describing a criminal act.
Grammar: Takes an object: the report accuses him of sodomising the victim.
Patterns
- accused of sodomising someone
The indictment accused him of sodomising the victim.
Newspapers avoided details about the man sodomising the prisoner.
The old statute criminalized sodomising even between consenting adults.
Word forms
| base form | sodomise |
|---|---|
| third person singular | sodomises |
| past tense | sodomised |
Common combinations
- accused of sodomising
- He was accused of sodomising a minor.
- charged with sodomising
- The guard was charged with sodomising an inmate.
- convicted of sodomising
- He was convicted of sodomising the victim.
- alleged sodomising
- The alleged sodomising was reported to police.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sodomizing
- This is the American spelling, with identical meaning.
- assaulting
- Assaulting is general violence, while sodomising names a specific sexual act.
Word family
Commonly confused: sodomising or Sodom?
sodomising vs Sodom
Sodom is a city in the Bible from which the word is derived.
Practice
In which kind of text are you most likely to meet the word sodomising?
Choose one answer.
The word is mostly found in legal or news reporting. It would be out of place in the other contexts.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sodomising”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.