as in creatures
one of the lower animals as distinguished from human beings
we saw a lot of animals at the wildlife refuge—cranes, alligators, deer, a fox, even an armadillo
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Recent Examples of animals
The ranch is home to a couple of hundred animals, including impalas, Nubian ibexes and an antelope found in Central Africa.
—
Tim Stelloh, NBC news, 24 June 2026
Dogs Inherited The ‘Wolf Pack’ Obligation Wolves are what biologists call obligate social hunters, that is, animals whose survival depends not just on being with others, but on coordinating with them.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026
Keep host animals, like deer and rabbits, far away from your yard.
—Heather Bien, The Spruce, 23 June 2026
The telltale signs of a screwworm infection are the growing wounds or lesions and the presence of feeding maggots on still-alive animals.
—Mateo Rosiles, USA Today, 23 June 2026
Remove brush, leaf, and firewood piles that provide shelter to animals and attract fleas.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 23 June 2026
In total, police seized 309 pythons from the apartment and transferred the animals to a local zoo.
—Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 23 June 2026
Officers requested animal control after receiving reports of four to five pigs in the roadway, while other animals remained trapped inside the trailer.
—Sacbee.com, 23 June 2026
Then, the researchers started looking further out along the evolutionary tree at earlier animals that hadn’t yet fully made the transition from fins to limbs.
—Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 23 June 2026
Tim Stelloh, NBC news, 24 June 2026
Dogs Inherited The ‘Wolf Pack’ Obligation Wolves are what biologists call obligate social hunters, that is, animals whose survival depends not just on being with others, but on coordinating with them.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026
Keep host animals, like deer and rabbits, far away from your yard.
—Heather Bien, The Spruce, 23 June 2026
The telltale signs of a screwworm infection are the growing wounds or lesions and the presence of feeding maggots on still-alive animals.
—Mateo Rosiles, USA Today, 23 June 2026
Remove brush, leaf, and firewood piles that provide shelter to animals and attract fleas.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 23 June 2026
In total, police seized 309 pythons from the apartment and transferred the animals to a local zoo.
—Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 23 June 2026
Officers requested animal control after receiving reports of four to five pigs in the roadway, while other animals remained trapped inside the trailer.
—Sacbee.com, 23 June 2026
Then, the researchers started looking further out along the evolutionary tree at earlier animals that hadn’t yet fully made the transition from fins to limbs.
—Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 23 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for animals
Noun
-
What happens in a world where young people are always rendered as creatures of the present, rather than also existing in the past?—
John Warner,
Chicago Tribune,
20 June 2026
-
Coffin co-directed four of those movies and voices every last one of the yellow creatures himself.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
20 June 2026
Noun
-
The findings, detailed today in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, suggest not only that all black holes emit such a wind but also that these beasts are not total loners that are isolated from their environments.—
Jeanna Bryner,
Scientific American,
4 June 2026
-
The beasts’ finale was a spectacular ending to a worthy show.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Animals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/animals. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
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