creature

[ kree-cher ]

noun

1. an animal, especially a nonhuman:

   the creatures of the woods and fields; a creature from outer space.

2. anything created, whether animate or inanimate.
3. person; human being:

   She is a charming creature. The driver of a bus is sometimes an irritable creature.

4. an animate being.
5. a person whose position or fortune is owed to someone or something and who continues under the control or influence of that person or thing:

   The cardinal was a creature of Louis XI.

6. Scot. and Older U.S. Use. Usually the creature. intoxicating liquor, especially whiskey:

   He drinks a bit of the creature before bedtime.

creature

/ ˈkriːtʃə /

noun

1. a living being, esp an animal
2. something that has been created, whether animate or inanimate

   a creature of the imagination

3. a human being; person: used as a term of scorn, pity, or endearment
4. a person who is dependent upon another; tool or puppet

Derived Forms

• ˈcreatural, adjective
• ˈcreatureliness, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of creature¹

First recorded before 1250–1300; Middle English creature, from Late Latin creātūra “act of creating”; create, -ure

Word History and Origins

Origin of creature¹

C13: from Church Latin crēatūra, from Latin crēare to create

Example Sentences

The dolphinlike creature was nearly 5 meters long, about the length of a canoe.

From Science News

We may now be in a world where in-person events are a rarity, but that hasn’t curbed our desire for gatherings as we’re naturally social creatures.

From Search Engine Watch

It keeps genes in the pool that might not be of use today, but might save a creature’s descendants from plagues, pestilence, and parasites.

From Nautilus

During the Blob from 2015–2016, some creatures may have traveled more than 2,000 kilometers.

From Science News

We are all creatures of habit, and shopping is largely habit-driven.

From Quartz

Their logic: the sea-creature would come alive and drink up any remaining alcohol.

From The Daily Beast

Exactly when the transition to modern domestic creature took place, for a bird that is wild to this day, is controversial.

From The Daily Beast

And the Gävle Goat, apparently a sensitive creature, took the destruction hard.

From The Daily Beast

Indeed, Dr. Shaheed has noted that Rouhani has only “limited authority” to change the system of which he is a creature.

From The Daily Beast

Pillay used the 747 to deliver creature comforts, particularly for business travelers, that were previously unheard of.

From The Daily Beast

He was the strangest-looking creature Davy had ever seen, not even excepting the Goblin.

From Project Gutenberg

Some of the alarm returned, however, when the creature attempted to climb up by his own ladder.

From Project Gutenberg

While Benjy sat contemplating this creature, and wondering what was to be the end of it all, a bright idea occurred to him.

From Project Gutenberg

That poor, pretty creature, starving, in her charming pink dress and hat of roses.

From Project Gutenberg

To hear the creature talk about it makes my mouth as a brick kiln and my flesh as that of a goose.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• animal
• critter
• fellow
• individual
• living thing
• man
• person
• soul
• woman