sessile
- adjective
- /ˈsɛsaɪl/
- Specialized
- There are sessile organisms, but most herbivores are out there moving.
- sessile polyp
- sessile organisms
Examples
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The affected area was slightly raised, sessile, and well circumscribed.
Academic text (2007) -
In this case, the slightly different way in which sessile species use space is a key part of ecological resistance to invasion.
Academic text (2008) -
Like plants, for example, fungi are sessile and compete for space in order to control access to resources.
Academic text (2008) -
The shell provides strong protection against predation and desiccation in sessile marine animals such as oysters.
Blog text (31) -
Seagrasses are sessile, essentially integrating the relevant water quality attributes, such as chlorophyll and turbidity, that affect the light reaching their leaves.
Academic text (2006) -
Rocky shores are frequently disturbed by the pounding of strong waves, which dislodges patches of sessile organisms such as mussels from their mooring (Figure 1).
Academic text (2008) -
The coral reef is home to many sessile organisms that depend on being attached to the ocean floor.
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The barnacles are sessile creatures that attach themselves firmly to the rocks along the coastline.
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Oysters are sessile animals that remain in one place and filter feed from the water around them.
Synonyms
Attached directly at the base without a small stem
Antonyms
Compounds
A flowering plant that grows in forests with leaves without stems and red or purple flowers with a strong smell
- Specialized
A North American woodland plant with leaves without stalks and red or purple flowers that have a strong smell
How Mobile
Surface Forms
Morphology
sessile = sess + ile
The element 'sess' is a non‑productive combining form (not a standalone English word), so learners cannot derive 'fixed in place' from familiar English morphemes.
Etymology
Sessile comes from the Latin sedere, which means 'to sit', and this same idea is in the English word sedentary. That's why a sessile plant or animal is fixed at its base without a stalk and cannot move freely.