apatosaur
1
9.9
- noun
- /əˈpætəˌsɔr/
:
apatosaurio
- The bright green apatosaur was gazing in the direction of Hetman's bed.
Examples
-
It was only that the apatosaurs were so much larger.
Fiction book (1990) -
The animals in the mist were perfect Apatosaurs, medium-sized sauropods.
Fiction book (1990) -
She was an apatosaur, but her head was big and hard.
Fiction book (2002) -
Hermione, an apatosaur, stood nearby, watching over him.
Fiction book (2001) -
A large herd of apatosaurs was grazing at the edge of the lagoon, eating the leaves of the upper branches of the palm trees.
Fiction book (1990) -
Alongside the apatosaurs, the smaller hadrosaurs stood on their hind legs to get at foliage.
Fiction book (1990) -
It's really quite a shambles, but Tibor, a runt of an apatosaur with a stem Beethoven-like face, sits there all day and hatches Napoleonic schemes.
Fiction book (2001) -
The apatosaur was known for its long neck, which helped it reach leaves high in the trees.
-
Paleontologists discovered a fossil of an apatosaur in North America, revealing its enormous size.
-
In many documentaries, the apatosaur is depicted roaming the lush landscapes of the late Jurassic period.
Synonyms
390
3.0
A large extinct animal from long ago, like T. rex
3
6.5
A very large dinosaur with a long neck and tail that ate plants and walked on four legs
1
9.9
A very large plant-eating dinosaur with a small head and a very long neck and tail
1
8.9
A very large plant-eating dinosaur with a long neck that walked on four legs
1
8.9
A large plant-eating dinosaur with a very long neck and tail that walks on four legs
1
9.7
A very large dinosaur that eats plants and has a very long neck
1
7.7
A very large dinosaur with a long neck that ate plants during the Jurassic
1
8.7
A large, long-necked plant-eating dinosaur from the Jurassic with longer front legs than back legs
1
9.9
A large long-necked plant-eating dinosaur from the Jurassic with a box-shaped skull
A large dinosaur that eats plants with a very long neck and tail
A large plant-eating dinosaur with a long neck and tail
A very large plant-eating dinosaur with a small head, long neck and long tail
A group of very large plant-eating dinosaurs with long necks, long tails and four thick legs
A group of very large dinosaurs with long necks and small heads that eat plants
A very large dinosaur with a long neck, as tall as a five-story building
A very large plant-eating dinosaur with a very long neck that reaches leaves high in trees
A very large dinosaur that ate plants from the Late Jurassic, known from fossils in western North America
How Big
- Specialized
- Informal
1
8.6
1
9.9
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
apatosaur = Apatosaurus (semi-transparent) = apato + saur
The form is a clipped variant of Apatosaurus (a recognizable dinosaur name), so learners may guess it refers to a dinosaur, but the internal Greek combining forms are not productive English morphemes for most learners.
Etymology
The word apatosaur comes from the Greek parts apate 'trick' and sauros 'lizard'. The apate part is like the English word 'deceive', and sauros is the same root you see in 'dinosaur'. So apatosaur means 'deceptive lizard', which is a helpful image because this very large, long-necked dinosaur was often confused with the better-known 'brontosaurus'.