as in panther
a large tawny cat of the wild
in many regions, suburban developments have encroached upon the habitat of the cougar
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Recent Examples of cougar
That’s according to John Erb, a furbearer and wolf research biologist at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, who said the agency has been receiving reports of this cougar in Minnesota since early September, when it was spotted near Fergus Falls.
—
Jimmy Lovrien, Twin Cities, 4 Dec. 2025
She was hired by the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden in 2011 to raise and train two cougar cubs, brothers Joseph and Tecumseh, that the zoo had obtained from a rehab facility in Nebraska.
—Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer, 25 Nov. 2025
Footage of the incident shows the mountain lion — the species also known as a cougar, puma or panther — lurking in some brush at the Orange County park, peeking its face tentatively from a spot behind some leaves.
—Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 5 Nov. 2025
Even in states where cougars breed, such as Colorado or California, human conflict with the animals is rarer than being struck by lightning.
—Mackensy Lunsford, Nashville Tennessean, 21 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cougar
Jimmy Lovrien, Twin Cities, 4 Dec. 2025
She was hired by the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden in 2011 to raise and train two cougar cubs, brothers Joseph and Tecumseh, that the zoo had obtained from a rehab facility in Nebraska.
—Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer, 25 Nov. 2025
Footage of the incident shows the mountain lion — the species also known as a cougar, puma or panther — lurking in some brush at the Orange County park, peeking its face tentatively from a spot behind some leaves.
—Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 5 Nov. 2025
Even in states where cougars breed, such as Colorado or California, human conflict with the animals is rarer than being struck by lightning.
—Mackensy Lunsford, Nashville Tennessean, 21 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cougar
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cougar
panther
Noun
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The panther statues are being auctioned through Charitybuzz.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
3 Jan. 2026
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Mountain lions are also known as cougars, pumas, panthers or catamounts, and there are projected to be 3,800 to 4,400 mountain lions currently in the wild in Colorado, the CPW noted.—
Mason Leath,
ABC News,
2 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cougar.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cougar. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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