carnivorous

[ kahr-niv-er-uhs ]
See synonyms for carnivorous on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. flesh-eating: A dog is a carnivorous animal.

  2. of the carnivores.

Origin of carnivorous

1
1640–50; <Latin carnivorus, equivalent to carni- (combining form of carō flesh) + -vorus-vorous

Other words for carnivorous

Other words from carnivorous

  • car·niv·o·rism, noun
  • car·niv·o·rous·ly, adverb
  • car·niv·o·rous·ness, noun
  • non·car·niv·o·rous, adjective
  • non·car·niv·o·rous·ly, adverb
  • non·car·niv·o·rous·ness, noun
  • un·car·niv·o·rous, adjective
  • un·car·niv·o·rous·ly, adverb
  • un·car·niv·o·rous·ness, noun

Words that may be confused with carnivorous

Words Nearby carnivorous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use carnivorous in a sentence

  • It is evident that many of them might readily become carnivorous to a large extent under suitable conditions.

    Man And His Ancestor | Charles Morris
  • Among the carnivorous mammals the social dog or wolf tribe displays the intelligent habit of mutual aid.

    Man And His Ancestor | Charles Morris
  • The Ternat bats are carnivorous animals, voracious, and possessed of an appetite for every thing that offers.

    Buffon's Natural History. Volume VII (of 10) | Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
  • These baboons though mischievious and ferocious, are not carnivorous; they principally feed upon fruits, roots, and corn.

    Buffon's Natural History. Volume IX (of 10) | Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
  • They are, indeed, among our most valuable sea scavengers, although they are carnivorous hunters as well.

    A Civic Biology | George William Hunter

British Dictionary definitions for carnivorous

carnivorous

/ (kɑːˈnɪvərəs) /


adjective
  1. (esp of animals) feeding on flesh

  2. (of plants such as the pitcher plant and sundew) able to trap and digest insects and other small animals

  1. of or relating to the Carnivora

  2. informal aggressively ambitious or reactionary

Origin of carnivorous

1
C17: from Latin carnivorus, from carō flesh + vorāre to consume

Derived forms of carnivorous

  • carnivorously, adverb
  • carnivorousness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012