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Synonyms

aculeate

American  
[uh-kyoo-lee-it, -eyt] / əˈkju li ɪt, -ˌeɪt /
Also aculeated

adjective

  1. Biology. having or being any sharp-pointed structure.

  2. having a slender ovipositor or sting, as the hymenopterous insects.

  3. pointed; stinging.


aculeate British  
/ əˈkjuːlɪɪt, -ˌeɪt /

adjective

  1. cutting; pointed

  2. having prickles or spines, as a rose

  3. having a sting, as bees, wasps, and ants

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of aculeate

From the Latin word acūleātus, dating back to 1595–1605. See aculeus, -ate 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Having a sharp point; armed with prickles; prickly; aculeate.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Webster, Noah

For none, however socially or financially powerful, was safe from the stab of that aculeate pen, the venom of whose ink is to gleam vividly from the pages of literature for centuries yet to come.

From The Letters of Ambrose Bierce With a Memoir by George Sterling by Bierce, Ambrose

Ovicells aculeate, with strong widely set spines, pyriform depressed.

From Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded By the Late Captain Owen Stanley, R.N., F.R.S. Etc. During the Years 1846-1850. Including Discoveries and Surveys in New Guinea, the Louisiade Archipelago, Etc. to Which Is Added the Account of Mr. E.B. Kennedy's Expedition for the Exploration of the Cape York Peninsula. By John Macgillivray, F.R.G.S. Naturalist to the Expedition. — Volume 1 by MacGillivray, John

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