ursine

adjective

ur·​sine ˈər-ˌsīn 

1

: of or relating to a bear or the bear family (Ursidae)

2

: suggesting or characteristic of a bear

a lumbering ursine gait

Examples of ursine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Farms there used to serve as a buffer zone, shielding urban residents from ursine intruders. — Geoff Childs, The Conversation, 20 Jan. 2026

This year’s ursine champion will be crowned on September 30. — Gloria Dickie, Outside, 24 Sep. 2025

Stitching things together, Michael Chernus, who has been on a streak of television like Severance, is back and warmly ursine onstage as a narrator who very much resembles Our Town’s. — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2025

Aside from the fact that there hasn’t been a true brown bear, or California grizzly, in the Golden State since in the 1920s, the way the ferocious — albeit slightly skinny — beast was moving looked less ursine and more human. — Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Latin ursinus, from ursus bear — more at arctic

First Known Use

circa 1550, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for ursine

• beanie
• genie
• sweeney
• sweeny
• teeny
• acini
• aldine
• amine
• arsine
• carinii
• cosine
• delphine