as in weak
lacking strength of will or character
an invertebrate Congress that blithely went along with the President's ill-conceived plan
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of invertebrate
Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 3 Feb. 2023
A year later, the state budgeted $10 million to pull DNA out of historic insect collections, as well as to launch ambitious new field studies to better understand the extent of California’s invertebrate biodiversity.
—Los Angeles Times, 24 Dec. 2022
Lauren Liebhaber, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2025
This gelatinous blob is an invertebrate called a bryozoan, specifically the species Pectinatella magnifica.
—Laura Baisas Aug 20, Popular Science, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for invertebrate
Adjective
Jessica Ware is associate curator of invertebrate zoology at the American Museum of Natural History.
—Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 3 Feb. 2023
A year later, the state budgeted $10 million to pull DNA out of historic insect collections, as well as to launch ambitious new field studies to better understand the extent of California’s invertebrate biodiversity.
—Los Angeles Times, 24 Dec. 2022
Noun
Researchers in the Republic of Korea, or South Korea, have discovered two unusual invertebrate species through the first study of its kind in more than 100 years.
—Lauren Liebhaber, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2025
This gelatinous blob is an invertebrate called a bryozoan, specifically the species Pectinatella magnifica.
—Laura Baisas Aug 20, Popular Science, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for invertebrate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for invertebrate
Adjective
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New orders contracted for a fourth month and export bookings remained weak, based on the ISM data.—
Reade Pickert Bloomberg,
Arkansas Online,
6 Jan. 2026
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Getting too little of either can lead to weak, brittle bones, and too much can also cause problems (like kidney stones or nausea).—
T'Keyah Bazin,
Verywell Health,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Ethanol is a potential toxin for all vertebrates, including bats and humans.—
Scott Lafee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 Dec. 2025
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Evergreen ground covers also shelter overwintering pollinators and provide year-round habit for ground-dwelling insects and vertebrates.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
21 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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Lord & Taylor shut all its stores in 2019 after HBC sold the weakened retailer, and Hudson’s Bay in Canada liquidated last year, ending its 355-year run.—
Phil Wahba,
Fortune,
8 Jan. 2026
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Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in infants, young children, older people, pregnant persons, and those with weakened immune systems.—
Michele Laufik,
Martha Stewart,
5 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
To protect your lilacs against hooved herbivores, install tall fencing or cages around your lilac bushes.—
Andy Wilcox,
Better Homes & Gardens,
12 Jan. 2026
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Reportedly, the site reveals a densely populated environment where this predator lived alongside freshwater sharks, bony fish, turtles, and crocodiles, as well as massive herbivores like sauropods and iguanodontians.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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The hardware is built for intimacy, pairing a soft exterior with full-body sensors that react to a user’s touch on its head or neck.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Jan. 2026
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So uncompromising as to turn hard heads into soft behinds.—
Marcus Thompson II,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The absence of tooth marks on the mandibles does not imply that other parts of the bodies were not consumed by hyenas or other carnivores.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
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The hominin bones and animal remains make up an assemblage of fossils that appear to come from the den of a carnivore, perhaps a hyena.—
Stephanie Pappas,
Scientific American,
7 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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My candidacy is a symbol of the end of the weak-kneed, feckless Republican leadership of Mitch McConnell, and the spineless swamp jellyfish that are in the United States Senate representing the Republicans.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
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Because Republicans in Congress are spineless.—
Callum Sutherland,
Time,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Invertebrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/invertebrate. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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