as in creatures
one of the lower animals as distinguished from human beings
we saw a lot of animals at the wildlife refuge—cranes, alligators, deer, a fox, even an armadillo
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Recent Examples of animals
On Monday, the Prairie Village City Council voted to adopt a conditional license for Oakley Reign — a spider monkey that’s recently been ushered into the spotlight as the northeast Johnson County city considered changing its definition of dangerous wild animals to include all monkeys.
—
Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 6 Jan. 2026
Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans.
—Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 6 Jan. 2026
It was called a tragedy by environmentalists, who along with ranchers accused the state of taking too long to try nonlethal ways of controlling the animals.
—Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 6 Jan. 2026
In the study, Yale School of Medicine, or YSM, researchers discovered elevated GLO1 levels in the brains of animals with excessive levels of cellular calcium, finding that the brain increased GLO1 expression as a protective mechanism to mitigate the effects of the calcium dysregulation.
—Isabella Backman, Hartford Courant, 6 Jan. 2026
Road development has cut off many animals from their native terrain.
—Marla Jo Fisher, Daily News, 6 Jan. 2026
Those differences could be key to the survival of the species, as well as show how other animals and humans could evolve in the future.
—Devika Rao, TheWeek, 6 Jan. 2026
The exam tested Kimmel's different cognitive functions, from drawing a cube to identifying several animals.
—Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Jan. 2026
The animals venture into the open water to hunt lanternfish, Antarctic silverfish, and squid.
—Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 6 Jan. 2026
Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 6 Jan. 2026
Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans.
—Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 6 Jan. 2026
It was called a tragedy by environmentalists, who along with ranchers accused the state of taking too long to try nonlethal ways of controlling the animals.
—Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 6 Jan. 2026
In the study, Yale School of Medicine, or YSM, researchers discovered elevated GLO1 levels in the brains of animals with excessive levels of cellular calcium, finding that the brain increased GLO1 expression as a protective mechanism to mitigate the effects of the calcium dysregulation.
—Isabella Backman, Hartford Courant, 6 Jan. 2026
Road development has cut off many animals from their native terrain.
—Marla Jo Fisher, Daily News, 6 Jan. 2026
Those differences could be key to the survival of the species, as well as show how other animals and humans could evolve in the future.
—Devika Rao, TheWeek, 6 Jan. 2026
The exam tested Kimmel's different cognitive functions, from drawing a cube to identifying several animals.
—Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Jan. 2026
The animals venture into the open water to hunt lanternfish, Antarctic silverfish, and squid.
—Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 6 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for animals
Noun
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In the absence of whales, sucker fish avoid predators by seeking other large creatures to latch onto, including manta rays, dolphins and unlucky scuba divers.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
8 Nov. 2025
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That means algae could grow in larger volumes, feeding more creatures and even possibly shifting how carbon moves through the ocean.—
Pranjal Malewar,
New Atlas,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The difficult truth is that hurricanes are complex beasts, inherently difficult to boil down into a single number.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
29 Oct. 2025
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Why no mumblings of atonement for the predatory nature of capitalism itself, its core values and standard operating procedures no different from those of the beasts in the field?—
Henry Freedland,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Animals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/animals. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.
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