precocial

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 precocial Hares are also born fully furred and with their eyes open, a trait called precocial, whereas rabbits are born hairless, blind, and vulnerable, needing more parental care in the early stages of life. Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 25 May 2025 Comparison with avian brain evolution suggests that placental brain size should be constrained due to placentals’ relative precociality, as has been hypothesized for precocial bird hatchlings. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 10 Sep. 2010 Ducks are what scientists call precocial birds — capable of feeding, swimming and walking soon after hatching. New York Times, 22 June 2022 Godwits and most other ground nesters, on the other hand, are precocial birds. Jim Robbins, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Jan. 2022 Game birds, precocial, have larger clutches because the young, feathered and out of the nest upon hatching, are more subject to predation. Jim Williams, Star Tribune, 29 June 2021 The opposite are precocial birds, birds that hatch with feathers and are mobile and ready to go shortly after emerging from the egg. Anna Thomas Bates, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 28 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for precocial
Adjective
  • As a result, teens don’t become physically dependent on it.
    Sarah Scott, Parents, 12 June 2025
  • In addition to murder, authorities have charged Patino with elder or dependent adult abuse resulting in death and elder or dependent adult abuse with infliction of injury, according to court documents.
    Rick Hurd, Mercury News, 12 June 2025
Adjective
  • NTDs refer to a diverse group of parasitic and bacterial diseases that cause significant morbidity and mortality in more than one billion people around the globe, which disproportionately affect poor and marginalized populations.
    Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes.com, 1 June 2025
  • Larvae of the parasitic fly chew through flesh, transforming small nicks into big, gruesome wounds.
    Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 27 May 2025
Adjective
  • The two companies have a symbiotic relationship, according to Williams.
    Mitch Mitchell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 June 2025
  • Jakes, Calabash and Treasure Beach have all grown together over the past 24 years, a beautifully symbiotic relationship.
    Baz Dreisinger, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Precocial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/precocial. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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