beget

USAGE SUMMARY

'beget' is correct and usable in written English.
To 'beget' typically means to father or produce something as a consequence. For example, "His actions beget consequences of which he had not considered".

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Encyclopedias

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

Tea would beget beer, beer would often beget burgers and sausages, and company for the evening.

The Guardian - Travel

Released last month, it supported marriage as a vehicle to "beget children" and wrote: "same-sex friendships are of a very different kind: to treat them as the same does a grave injustice to both kinds of friendship and ignores the particular values that real marriages serve".

The Guardian

Until that happens, other policies will be second-best, but they need to be tried.More aid, and legal tradeIt would be folly not to recognise that drugs, and the violence they beget, are a problem throughout the region.

The Economist

Those who answer this riddle correctly not only destroy monsters; they go on to marry their own mothers and beget children on them, and then gouge out their own eyes.Too bad for you that you answered it correctly.GARETH PENNTiburon, CaliforniaSIR Your call to the rest of the world to apply pressure on Ethiopia to make peace in the war with Eritrea is unfair ("Lethal punch-up", September 25th).

The Economist

Subsidies will beget more subsidies: Nicolas Sarkozy, France's president, says that Europe will turn into an "industrial wasteland" if it too does not prop up its manufacturers.

The Economist

The Shanghai Corporate Pavilion at the World Expo, funded by local state enterprises, commissioned a Pulitzer-prize-winning Pulitzer-prize-winning Pulitzer-prize-winningook of images of Shanghai's history, giving him unphotographeraccess to the city's archives.Yet this more reLiu Heung Shingtowards history does not always beget more vigorous preservation.

The Economist

It's true that young, unmarried women who beget don't exactly thrive economically.

The Economist

REFERRING to "the indescribable agony and horror of recent events", the prime minister went on to deliver a deeply-felt plea for the president to exercise caution: "The sense of outrage this brings can beget dangerous counsels, impatient and exasperated demands to hit back in ways that would widen and not end the war.

The Economist

And previous studies have shown that older fathers are relatively more likely to beget daughters.

The Economist

And this disillusionment tends to beget internal squabbling, half-truths and, sometimes, just bad luck.

The Economist

Genomics could beget some novel wine flavours and combinations to ensure the wine really does go with the food: pinot noir with cranberries, pork, and sage and onion stuffing, perhaps.And why stop there?

The Economist

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "beget" when you want to emphasize a direct causal relationship or the act of producing something as a consequence. It often carries a sense of inevitability.

Common error

Avoid using "beget" in casual conversation or informal writing where simpler words like "cause" or "create" would be more appropriate. "Beget" has a formal and somewhat archaic tone.

Linguistic Context

The primary grammatical function of "beget" is that of a transitive verb. It requires a direct object, indicating what is being caused or produced. Ludwig AI confirms its correct usage in various contexts.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

50%

Encyclopedias

25%

Science

10%

Less common in

Formal & Business

5%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

"Beget" is a transitive verb indicating the act of causing or producing something, often with a sense of inevitability. While grammatically correct, it carries a formal tone and is more common in writing and academic contexts than in everyday speech. According to Ludwig AI, it is used correctly in the provided examples, primarily in contexts such as news and media and encyclopedias. When aiming for clarity and impact, ensure the formality aligns with your intended audience, otherwise, alternatives like "give rise to" or "lead to" may provide a more accessible tone.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

engender

Similar to "beget", but often used in a more abstract sense, referring to the generation of feelings or ideas.

give rise to

This alternative emphasizes the act of initiating or causing something to happen.

generate

Implies the creation or production of something, often in a systematic way.

bring about

Focuses on the act of causing something to occur or exist.

produce

A general term for creating or yielding something.

lead to

Highlights the consequence or outcome of an action or situation.

result in

Similar to "lead to", emphasizing the outcome or consequence.

father

Specifically refers to the act of generating offspring.

sire

Similar to "father", but often used in a more formal or literary context.

spawn

Can imply producing something rapidly or prolifically, sometimes with negative connotations.

FAQs

How to use "beget" in a sentence?

You can use "beget" to indicate that something causes or produces something else, as in "Violence can "beget violence"" or "Success can "beget overreaching ambition"".

What can I say instead of "beget"?

You can use alternatives like "engender", "generate", "give rise to", or "lead to" depending on the specific context.

Is "beget" commonly used in modern English?

"Beget" is not as common as its synonyms like "cause" or "create", but it's still used in formal writing and academic contexts to emphasize a direct causal relationship or the production of something as a consequence.

What's the difference between "beget" and "cause"?

"Beget" often implies a more direct and inevitable causal relationship than "cause". While "cause" is a general term for something that produces an effect, "beget" suggests that the effect is a natural or inherent result of the cause.