CARNIVOROUS Synonyms: 18 Similar and Opposite Words

carnivorous

adjective

Definition of carnivorous

as in aggressive

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of carnivorous Advertisement The manosphere is drenched in blood-red carnivorous encomiums. — Michael Kimmel, Time, 15 Aug. 2026 Rescuing the Venus fly trap The carnivorous Venus fly trap is native to the Carolinas, but its population is dwindling due to loss of habitat. — David Morgan, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026 Firefly larvae, on the other hand, are usually carnivorous and may feed on soft-bodied insects, slugs, snails, and worms. — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 July 2026 The bloody red shrimp are herbivores when young, feeding on phytoplankton, and then add carnivorous activity as adults, adding zooplankton to their diet. — Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 3 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for carnivorous

Recent Examples of Synonyms for carnivorous

Adjective

These two phases of work are joined by Serra’s implicit disavowal of abstraction as a form of imagemaking in favor of an object’s aggressive purchase on the real.

— Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
Her challenger is Herb Morgan, a Republican from San Diego who promises a more aggressive approach to the job.

— Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of aggressive

Adjective

The Indian pilot who fought off a savage attack by his copilot and helped prevent an apparent hijack of a Flydubai plane heading to Israel with more than 170 people on board is being hailed as a hero.

— Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index weathered a savage 30% drawdown, has been choppily trendless for two months, then in recent days finally broke above its downtrend and surmounted the 50-day moving average.

— Michael Santoli, CNBC, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of savage

Adjective

Responsible for the devastating Black Death pandemic of 1346 to 1353, this deadly bacterium claimed between 25 and 50 million lives in Europe alone.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 5 Oct. 2026
What knocks him for a deadly loop is a powdered, pampered piece of work called Mildred (Elizabeth Teeter).

— Sara Holdren, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of deadly

Adjective

In recent years, right-wing figures and media outlets have advanced the narrative that transgender people and those who support them are violent or dangerous to society.

— Lisa Hagen, NPR, 30 Sep. 2026
Instead, the Boeing 737 Max 8 plunged thousands of feet after a violent confrontation erupted inside its cockpit.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of violent

Adjective

Pursuing Leamas and Doris are Josef Fiedler and Hans-Dieter Mundt, two Stasi operatives whose ferocious desire to shut down the intelligence leak is matched only by their internal rivalry and an iron will to outmatch each other.

— Max Goldbart, Deadline, 28 Sep. 2026
Pursuing Leamas and Doris are Josef Fiedler (Brühl) and Hans-Dieter Mundt (Kammerer), two Stasi operatives whose ferocious desire to shut down the intelligence leak is matched only by their internal rivalry and an iron will to outmatch each other.

— Alex Ritman, Variety, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of ferocious

Adjective

The governor’s framework rightfully makes stopping this kind of predatory chatbot behavior a priority.

— Matt Post, Baltimore Sun, 1 Oct. 2026
That’s why Meta has agreed to pay up to eighteen billion dollars as part of a settlement over predatory and deceptive practices, and why Anthropic is paying writers and publishers (admittedly, pennies) in a copyright settlement.

— Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of predatory

Adjective

The rare show of alignment among fierce rivals was soon countered by comments from Meta’s Zuckerberg and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, both of whom dismissed the slowdown idea.

— Alyson Shontell, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026
The book and series focus on the complicated romance of Canadian hockey prodigy Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Russian phenom Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), who are the fierce on-ice rivals and the league’s best players.

— Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of fierce

Adjective

The absurdist look at greed and climate change, reality and the distorting power of media, feckless world leaders and rapacious billionaires, struggled to get off the ground.

— Brent Lang, IndieWire, 30 Sep. 2026
And as independent news sites go belly-up as a result of a lack of traffic, rapacious AI entrepreneurs are circling like buzzards.

— Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of rapacious

Browse Nearby Words

carnivores

carnivorous

caroche

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Carnivorous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/carnivorous. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of carnivorous

adjective

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

regimen

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes