herbivorous

[hur-biv-er-uhs, ur-]

adjective

1. feeding on plants.

herbivorous

/ hɜːˈbɪvərəs /

adjective

1. (of animals) feeding on grass and other plants

2. informal,  liberal, idealistic, or nonmaterialistic

Other Word Forms

• herbivority noun
• herbivorously adverb
• herbivorousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of herbivorous¹

1655–65; < New Latin herbivorus; herb, -i-, -vorous

Example Sentences

They had previously been characterized as entirely herbivorous, like gorillas, Goodall observed them hunting, killing and eating small mammals such as bush pigs and colobus monkeys, by any standard a complicated collaborative enterprise.

Read more on Salon

Therizinosaurs were a group of either herbivorous or omnivorous theropod dinosaurs that lived in Asia and North America during the Cretaceous Period, which began 145 million years ago and ended 66 million years ago.

Read more on BBC

The contents of coprolites from the first large herbivorous dinosaurs, the long-necked sauropods, surprised the researchers.

Read more on Science Daily

Known in Argentina as carpinchos, capybaras are gentle and herbivorous, but they are hard to miss.

Read more on Salon

However, the island is also home to an abundance of mostly herbivorous mammals big enough to crush a snake, including deer, pigs, sheep, cows, goats, and humans.

Read more on Science Magazine