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amensalism

American  
[ey-men-suh-liz-uhm] / eɪˈmɛn səˌlɪz əm /

noun

Ecology.

  1. a relationship between two species of organisms in which the individuals of one species adversely affect those of the other and are unaffected themselves.

amensalism Scientific  
/ ā-mĕn′sə-lĭz′əm /

  1. A relationship between two organisms in which one organism is harmed or inhibited and the other is unaffected. Examples of amensalism include the shading out of one plant by a taller and wider one and the inhibition of one plant by the secretions of another (known as allelopathy).

  2. Compare commensalism mutualism parasitism

Etymology

Origin of amensalism

Probably a- 6 + (com)mensal + -ism

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.