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The Difference Between Vegetarian, Vegan, and Other Diets
The word vegetarian sprouted up in 1839. Fruitarian ("a person who lives on fruit") ripened by 1893. In 1944, vegetarians who consume no animal or dairy products began calling themselves vegans. Then, in 1993, those who eat fish but no other meat chose pesce, the Italian word for "fish," to create the designation pescatarian. In that same year, meatatarian was served up as a word for those whose diet largely includes meat; that word is rare, however, and is usually used in informal and humorous ways, making it the type of fare not included in our dictionaries. Another fairly recent dietary word is flexitarian, a person who follows a mostly vegetarian diet but occasionally eats meat or fish.
Examples of vegetarian in a Sentence
Allison Palmer, Miami Herald, 28 Jan. 2026
Bengalur Ootery, which opened in November, serves up a panoply of vegetarian dishes, with many vegan items.
—Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 23 Jan. 2026
Miriam Fauzia, Dallas Morning News, 29 Jan. 2026
The multicourse chef’s tasting menu is the true star of the show here, and there’s even a vegetarian option.
—Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for vegetarian
Cite this Entry
“Vegetarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vegetarian. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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vegetarian
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vegetarian
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vegetarian
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vegetarian
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