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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
carnivorously
adverbcarnivorousness
nounPeople Are Reading
Recent Examples of carnivorous from the Web
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The same traps that ensnare fish are also attractions for carnivorous mammals in search of prey.
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Perfectly cooked, pleasantly fatty, with a subtle smokiness from the grill, these thin slices of beef with their sweet and savory marinade are just the thing to soothe your carnivorous yearnings.
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Today, for a number of converging reasons -- the age of social media, the popularity of ecological gardening and the breeding of variants -- the interest in carnivorous plants has never been more intense or widespread.
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A visitor feeds a Venus flytrap a worm at UNCC’s celebration of carnivorous plants on Saturday.
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Other exhibit highlights include a skeleton and a reconstruction of the carnivorous Antarctic dinosaur Cryolophosaurus ellioti, as well as dioramas showing early sauropods, Skwerski said.
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The zoo will also have carnivorous plants such as Venus flytrap, pitcher plant and bladderwort.
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The plant is the carnivorous Venus flytrap, which catches its own dinner.
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Sea lions are carnivorous and feed on anchovies, sardine, whiting, mackerel, rockfish and squid near the ocean surface down to about 80 feet, says the National Marine Mammal Laboratory.
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
Other Ecology Terms
CARNIVOROUS Defined for Kids
carnivorous
playDefinition 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.
Medical Dictionary
carnivorous
playMedical Definition of carnivorous
1: subsisting or feeding on animal tissues
2: of or relating to the carnivores
carnivorously
adverbcarnivorousness
nounLearn More about carnivorous
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See words that rhyme with carnivorous Spanish Central: Translation of carnivorous Nglish: Translation of carnivorous for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of carnivorous for Arabic speakers
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