insectivore

Definition of insectivorenext

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 insectivore Moreover, in every case, the ancestors were either insectivores or carnivores, with insect-eaters making the shift about three times more often than carnivores. Rupendra Brahambhatt, ArsTechnica, 20 Aug. 2025 Belonging to the same group of mammals as sloths and anteaters, armadillos are voracious insectivores that eat large numbers of beetles, grubs, ants, termites, and other insects, grabbing them with their sticky tongues. Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 18 July 2025 The lemurs and tenrecs of Madagascar, for example, are descended from primates and insectivores that used to be much more widespread. Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 June 2025 This tiny insectivore has an exceptionally fast metabolism, demanding near-constant feeding to survive. Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 15 Mar. 2025 Among the species declines that have led to billions fewer birds in North America over the last half-century, grassland birds and aerial insectivores have been hit especially hard, having lost many bugs that once fed them. Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 22 Sep. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insectivore
Noun
  • Birds also have a beak and no teeth, and that doesn’t stop an eagle from being a carnivore.
    Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 26 May 2026
  • Nagatitan would have lived with smaller plant-eating dinosaurs, including iguanodontians, some cousins of the Triceratops called ceratopsians, as well as large carnivores, and flying pterosaurs.
    Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 14 May 2026
Noun
  • The animal first gained attention after a local farmer noticed the resemblance.
    Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 4 June 2026
  • New World screwworm, which burrows into the flesh of living animals, is a pest that can affect livestock and cause economic losses in the agricultural sector.
    Justina Lee, CNBC, 4 June 2026
Noun
  • What the totality of evidence actually supports is this: humans are metabolically flexible omnivores with notable carnivorous adaptations that emerged over the past two million years, overlaid on an older primate legacy of plant consumption.
    Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 27 Apr. 2026
  • North American river otters are omnivores, feeding on fish, turtles, crabs, mollusks, birds, oysters, shellfish, crayfish, frogs, rodents and insects.
    Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 22 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Female screwworms lay hundreds of eggs in the wounds and openings of warm-blooded creatures, allowing their larvae to feast on the living animals, causing deep, festering, life-threatening wounds.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 3 June 2026
  • But Hilton is likely to hammer Becerra as a creature of the state’s Democratic establishment.
    Ted Johnson, Deadline, 3 June 2026
Noun
  • The neighborhood Two hundred kilometers north of Cairns and totally secluded, the island is the neighbourhood, and the native birds, critters, and sea life are the locals.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026
  • Snakes are natural pest controllers, eating critters that harm your garden, but too many can pose risks.
    Michelle Mastro, Martha Stewart, 31 May 2026
Noun
  • My bathtub seems to be a place these cute beasties like to hang out.
    Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 16 May 2026
  • Thirty-two of the collared beasties are out there right now, aperitifs in waiting.
    Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 1 May 2026
Noun
  • One subset of varmint rounds are cartridges that don't use bullets.
    David Szondy April 19, New Atlas, 19 Apr. 2026
  • Money speaks, the land listens, where the Anarchist skulked, where the horsethief plied his trade, we fishers of Americans will cast our nets of perfect ten-acre mesh, leveled and varmint-proofed, ready to build on.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Much of the exhibit was inspired by community voices, including by children who’d told museum staff about rat bites and about vermin so large, they were mistaken for stray cats.
    Camille Borders, The Atlantic, 3 June 2026
  • This could include, but is not limited to, major vermin contamination.
    Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado May 29, Sacbee.com, 29 May 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Insectivore.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insectivore. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.

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