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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 vegan in a Sentence
Kathryn Streeter, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025
The brand’s vegan protein shakes have a coconut-milk base and come in 20-gram, 26-gram, and 32-gram varieties, but the 20-gram seems to be the easiest to find.
—Alaina Chou, Bon Appetit Magazine, 30 Oct. 2025
Although aimed at attracting vegans, the free event is open to everyone.
—Marcus Smith, Sacbee.com, 30 Oct. 2025
In 2021, Eilish launched her vegan and cruelty-free perfume brand, Eilish Fragrances.
—Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vegan
Cite this Entry
“Vegan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vegan. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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vegan
noun
Medical Definition
vegan
noun
-ˌan
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