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Pigs are rarely given credit for their high intelligence or their friendliness as pets, but instead are mocked for their habit of cooling themselves in mud puddles and the aggressive way they often go after food. While porcine isn't as negative a term as swinish, it may describe things that are fat, greedy, pushy, or generally piggish—but primarily fat. Porky Pig and Miss Piggy aren't particularly porcine in their behavior, only in their appearance—that is, pink and pudgy.
Examples of porcine in a Sentence
Bill Sullivan, The Conversation, 5 June 2020
On the health front (and on the pig front again) my stomach churned at the idea that many baby vaccines contain a porcine carrier.
—Aneesa Bodiat, New York Times, 12 May 2020
This is consistent with experimental studies of porcine respiratory coronavirus (PRCV).
—Quanta Magazine, 29 Apr. 2020
The eatery, which reopens Friday in Philly's Fishtown neighborhood, doesn’t look special, other than the prominent chalk menu board and a notable focus on porcine decorations, including the signature Romulus and Remus art.
—Larry Olmsted, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2020
Such exchanges are, however, no different in principle from the risks of large-scale pig farming: Intensive biosecurity is as much to prevent the pigs acquiring viruses from humans as to protect humans from porcine viruses.
—Robert Dingwall, Wired, 29 Jan. 2020
But as Jim Robbins reports for the New York Times, these porcine menaces are spreading.
—Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, 18 Dec. 2019
In the first film, peaceful flightless birds battled the invasion of an ingratiating porcine population, led by Leonard (Bill Hader), who had the ulterior motive of stealing their eggs for food.
—Katie Walsh, chicagotribune.com, 12 Aug. 2019
In the first film, peaceful flightless birds battled the invasion of an ingratiating porcine population, led by Leonard (voiced by Bill Hader), who had the ulterior motive of stealing their eggs for food.
—Katie Walsh, Detroit Free Press, 12 Aug. 2019
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'porcine.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Porcine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/porcine. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
porcine
adjective
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