anthropoid

[an-thruh-poid]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR anthropoid ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

resembling humans.

belonging or pertaining to the primate suborder Anthropoidea, characterized by a relatively flat face, dry nose, small immobile ears, and forward-facing eyes, comprising humans, apes, Old World monkeys, and New World monkeys.Compare prosimian.

noun

anthropoid ape.

Origin of anthropoid

First recorded in 1825–35, anthropoid is from the Greek word anthropoeidḗs in the shape of a man. See anthropo-, -oid

Related formsan·thro·poi·dal, adjectivepseu·do·an·thro·poid, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for anthropoid

primate, humanoid, monkey, gibbon, orang, chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan

Examples from the Web for anthropoid

Contemporary Examples of anthropoid

This left them, in the end, with “rhinoceros” and “anthropoid.”
Portrait of the Consummate Con Man
John Lardner
May 17, 2014
They summoned Mr. Rizzo and desired him to spell the word “anthropoid.”
Portrait of the Consummate Con Man
John Lardner
May 17, 2014
In and among the rest he inserted the words “rhinoceros” and “anthropoid.”
Portrait of the Consummate Con Man
John Lardner
May 17, 2014

Historical Examples of anthropoid

The human race, collectively, exclusive of the anthropoid poets.
The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce
In the anthropoid ape we already find the family, but not the clan.
The Sexual Question
August Forel
A white foam dripped from the chattering lips of the anthropoid.
The Mind Master
Arthur J. Burks
Bentley rose and looked down at the anthropoid for several seconds.
The Mind Master
Arthur J. Burks
From these last, anthropoid apes and man have, he believes, been evolved.
Evolution in Modern Thought
Ernst Haeckel

British Dictionary definitions for anthropoid

anthropoid

adjective

resembling man

resembling an ape; apelike

of or relating to the suborder Anthropoidea

noun

any primate of the suborder Anthropoidea, including monkeys, apes, and manCompare prosimian

Derived Formsanthropoidal, adjective

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

Word Origin and History for anthropoid

adj.

"manlike," 1835, from Greek anthropoeides "like a man, resembling a man; in human form;" see anthropo- + -iod. As a noun, attested from 1832 (the Greek noun in this sense was anthroparion).

anthropoid in Medicine

anthropoid

[ăn′thrə-poid′]

adj.

Resembling human beings in structure and form.

Of or belonging to the family of great apes including the gorilla, chimpanzee, and orangutan.

Resembling or characteristic of an ape; apelike.