carnivorous

adjective car·niv·o·rous \ kär-ˈni-v(ə-)rəs \

|Updated on: 10 Jun 2018

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of carnivorous

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 : rapacious

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carnivorously

adverb

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carnivorousness

noun

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carnivory

play \kär-ˈni-və-rē\ noun

See carnivorous defined for kids

Recent Examples of carnivorous from the Web

The grounds of the Old U.S. Mint now hold Louisiana irises, carnivorous pitcher plants, pickerel weed, spider lily, aquatic milkweed, swamp goldenrod and swamp Sunflowers, all in a large sugar kettle.

— kendra parks, NOLA.com, "Master gardeners celebrate the tricentennial and bring native plants back to New Orleans," 24 May 2018
For lighter fare, tuna and salmon can make a great burger, and a black bean base can take things into a vegetarian direction that might even challenge carnivorous bias.

— chuck blount, San Antonio Express-News, "5 alternative burger recipes that go beyond the beef," 21 May 2018
All of the other animals, most of them carnivorous exotics like tigers and lions and bears, were killed by police.

— Longreads, "Wild At Heart," 17 May 2018
The flytrap has been reduced to less than 5 percent of its natural abundance because of its rarity, the scientists say — its carnivorous appetite and because it's found only in small parts of the Carolinas coast and sandhills.

— bruce henderson, charlotteobserver, "NC's insect-gobbling Venus flytrap is at the brink of extinction. Help might be on the way. | Charlotte Observer," 11 May 2018
Now, as Nicola Davis reports for the Guardian, researchers have unearthed around 50 more footprints at a nearby site, which, unlike the previous location, includes the tracks of carnivorous dinosaurs.

— brigit katz, Smithsonian, "50 Rare Dinosaur Footprints Found on Scottish Island," 3 Apr. 2018
Indigenous cultures and legends often get associated with nature’s alien viciousness—consider the way the 2008 horror film The Ruins uses lost Mayan pyramids as a setting for its carnivorous vines.

— asher elbein, The Atlantic, "The Terror Is More Than a Chilling Monster Show," 1 May 2018
Such systems are common in small organisms, including animals (like the infamously pugilistic mantis shrimp), plants (like the infamously carnivorous Venus flytrap), and even mushrooms, many of which eject their spores with phenomenal fungal power.

— robbie gonzalez, WIRED, "Nature’s Mechanical Secrets Could Help Build Faster Robots," 26 Apr. 2018
As moderator of a recent panel discussion at the Wharton School titled Meat Without Animals: Social Entrepreneurship and the Future of Food, I felt obliged to disclose my carnivorous past.

— diane mastrull, Philly.com, "When the daughter of a butcher leads a discussion on animal-free eating," 19 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'carnivorous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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.

Origin and Etymology of carnivorous

Latin carnivorus, from carn-, caro + -vorus -vorous

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1592

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Ecology Terms

Malthusian, anthropogenic, biomass, carbon footprint, crepuscular, niche, sere, symbiosis, taiga, tundra

CARNIVOROUS Defined for Kids

carnivorous

adjective car·niv·o·rous \ kär-ˈni-və-rəs \

Definition of carnivorous for Students

: feeding on animal flesh or tissue

Wolves are carnivorous animals.

Word Root of carnivorous

The Latin word vorāre, meaning “to eat greedily,” gives us the root vor. Words from the Latin vorāre have something to do with eating. An herbivorous animal eats only plants. A carnivorous animal eats only other animals. To devour is to eat up greedily. Anyone voracious likes to eat a lot.