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carnivorous

carnivorous

17 5.5
Eating other animals or insects for food
  • adjective
  • /kɑrˈnɪvərəs/
translation icon : carnívoro
  • Many species of carnivorous plants, like the Venus flytrap, capture insects for nutrients.
  • carnivorous plant
  • carnivorous mammals
  • carnivorous species

But they're also terrible versions of a, a carnivorous diet, right?

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Examples

  • It's a giant carnivorous plant, Sam.

  • After about two weeks, the eggs hatch, and minute, carnivorous larvae emerge.

    Academic text (2003)
  • "There are many carnivorous animals in the jungle."

  • We are not carnivorous apes.

  • Although they present no obvious danger to even the smallest of humans, carnivorous plants

    Academic text (2002)
  • Throughout Africa and southern Asia, monitors coexist successfully with a wide range of carnivorous mammals.

    Academic text (2003)
  • The largest carnivorous dinosaur was the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

  • I have a bog of carnivorous plants outside which are thriving off of all of these beautiful flies that they're catching.

  • A baby hippogriff clung to a nearby roost, terrified by the two big carnivorous birds.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Bogs are home to a large number of carnivorous plant species, such as sundews, butterworts, bladderworts, and pitcher plants.

    Academic text (2002)

Synonyms

predatory
vscarnivorous
8 4.8

Hunting and eating other animals for food

refers to feeding on animals without stressing hunting
meat-eating
vscarnivorous
3 2.1

An animal that eats other animals for food

is the neutral scientific term for that dietary habit
flesh-eating
vscarnivorous
1 6.1

An animal that eats the meat of other animals

is the neutral scientific term for that dietary habit
zoophagous
vscarnivorous
  • Specialized
9.9

An animal that eats other animals for food

is the same idea but uses common language not technical term

Antonyms

herbivorous
  • Specialized
1 6.7

An animal that eats only plants

Compounds

A plant that eats insects and small animals to get food

A bat that eats insects and finds them by using sound

How Carnivorous

carnivorous
17 5.5
omnivorous
4 5.6
herbivorous
  • Specialized
1 6.7

Surface Forms

carnivorous positive

Morphology

carnivorous = carnivore (transparent) = carnivore + ous

Formed by adding the adjectival suffix '-ous' to the noun 'carnivore', yielding the adjective meaning 'relating to or feeding on flesh'.

Etymology

Carnivorous comes from Latin parts: carni- meaning 'meat', like Spanish 'carne', and -vorous meaning 'eating', and you can see the same idea in carnivore. So, carnivorous means 'eating meat'.