carnivorous
adjective
car·niv·o·rous
kär-ˈni-v(ə-)rəs 
1
: subsisting or feeding on animal tissues
2
of a plant
: subsisting on nutrients obtained from the breakdown of animal protoplasm (as of insects)
3
: of or relating to the carnivores
4
Did you know?
The order of mammals that Linnaeus named the Carnivora includes such families as the dogs, the bears, the raccoons, the weasels, the hyenas, the cats, and the seals. Most carnivores eat only meat in the wild, but some have varied diets; some bears, for instance, normally eat far more vegetation than meat. Carnivores have powerful jaws and complex teeth, and most are highly intelligent. Humans, like their ape cousins, are basically omnivores.
Examples of carnivorous in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The appeal is built on two ideas: 1) the amazing feat of using prehistoric DNA to clone new dinosaurs; and 2) the terrifying prospect of those dinosaurs behaving like, well, dinosaurs (namely the carnivorous ones).
—
Will Harris, EW.com, 27 June 2025
The island-dwelling crocodiles wandering around the shores of what’s now the Dominican Republic were the last remainders of a carnivorous legacy stretching back more than 60 million years, able to hang on in an island refuge buffered from changes on the mainland.
—Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 June 2025
The ants are carnivorous, feeding on flies, beetles, grasshoppers and termites, USA Today reported.
—Don Sweeney, Miami Herald, 10 June 2025
That means shifting away from carnivorous species like salmon toward unfed aquaculture options—such as mussels and oysters—which require no external feed inputs.
—Felicia Jackson, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
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Will Harris, EW.com, 27 June 2025
The island-dwelling crocodiles wandering around the shores of what’s now the Dominican Republic were the last remainders of a carnivorous legacy stretching back more than 60 million years, able to hang on in an island refuge buffered from changes on the mainland.
—Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 June 2025
The ants are carnivorous, feeding on flies, beetles, grasshoppers and termites, USA Today reported.
—Don Sweeney, Miami Herald, 10 June 2025
That means shifting away from carnivorous species like salmon toward unfed aquaculture options—such as mussels and oysters—which require no external feed inputs.
—Felicia Jackson, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for carnivorous
Cite this Entry
“Carnivorous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/carnivorous. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
carnivorous
adjective
car·niv·o·rous
kär-ˈniv-(ə-)rəs
1
a
: feeding on animal tissues
b
: trapping and digesting insects
carnivorous plants
2
: of or relating to the carnivores
Medical Definition
carnivorous
adjective
car·niv·o·rous
kär-ˈniv-(ə-)rəs
1
: subsisting or feeding on animal tissues
2
: of or relating to the carnivores
carnivorously
adverb
carnivorousness
noun
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