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parasitic

parasitic

10 5.7
Of a living thing that lives on or in another and takes food
  • adjective
  • /ˌpærəˈsɪtɪk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : parasitario
  • They've recently unleashed a trait in honey bees that offers defense against the parasitic Varroa mite.
  • parasitic wasps
  • parasitic disease
  • parasitic insects

Well, these parasitic Wasps specifically seek out your fly larvae.

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Examples

  • Available commercially, Muscidifurax raptor is a parasitic wasp that preys on flies, laying its eggs in the pupae.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Echinococcus multilocularis is the causative agent of the parasitic zoonosis alveolar echinococcosis.

    Academic text (2012)
  • It's a family of four different parasitic diseases.

  • But more specifically, in this case it's a parasitic twin.

  • She was born with a parasitic twin.

  • And these aphids can become resistant to a parasitic wasp that would otherwise kill them.

  • Malaria is a parasitic disease spread by the bite of a female Anopheles mosquito.

  • Trichinella spiralis is a parasitic nematode with a complex life cycle.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Michal Polak, of Arizona State University, has shown that Drosophila larvae infected with parasitic nematodes develop into asymmetrical adults.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Malaria is a parasitic disease spread by the bite of a female Anopheles mosquito.

Synonyms

parasitical
vsparasitic
1 7.2

Caused by tiny animals that live on another animal or person and harm them

refers only to things caused by or relating directly to parasites

Antonyms

Not living on or inside another living thing to get food

Compounds

parasitic worm
  • Specialized
1 4.4

A small animal that lives inside another animal and takes its food, often causing sickness

parasitic jaeger
  • Specialized
9.9

A sea bird that chases other birds to steal their food

parasitic plant
  • Specialized
5.3

A plant that lives on another plant and takes its food from it

How Parasitic

parasitic
  • Specialized
10 5.7

Surface Forms

parasitic positive

Morphology

parasitic = parasite (transparent) = parasite + ic

The adjective is a regular derivation from the noun 'parasite' with the productive adjectival suffix '-ic', and the meanings are directly related.

Etymology

Parasitic comes from a Greek idea of someone who ate at another person's table, with para- 'beside' and sitos 'food' giving us parasite. So a parasitic organism lives by taking food or other needs from a host.