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View synonyms for cannibal

cannibal

[ kan-uh-buhl ]

noun

  1. a person who eats human flesh, especially for magical or religious purposes, as among certain tribal peoples.
  2. any animal that eats its own kind.


adjective

  1. pertaining to or characteristic of a cannibal.
  2. given to cannibalism.

cannibal

/ ˈkænɪbəl /

noun

    1. a person who eats the flesh of other human beings
    2. ( as modifier )

      cannibal tribes

  1. an animal that feeds on the flesh of others of its kind
“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


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Other Words From

  • canni·bal·ly adverb
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Word History and Origins

Origin of cannibal1

First recorded in 1545–55; from Spanish caníbal, variant of caríbal, from canib-, caribe (from Taíno; Carib ( def ) ) + -al -al 1; from the belief that the Caribs of the West Indies ate human flesh
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Word History and Origins

Origin of cannibal1

C16: from Spanish Canibales, name used by Columbus to designate the Caribs of Cuba and Haiti, from Arawak caniba, variant of Carib
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Example Sentences

Writers frequently drew bones, lip plates and fangs over Davis’s photo in newspaper clippings, associated her Afro with primitivism and accused her of being a cannibal.

The windigo is this really terrifying cannibal spirit that as it gets bigger, it wants more, it wants more.

To me it is a ridiculous euphemism, the way you might refer to cannibals as “practitioners of nontraditional culinary adventuresomeness.”

Imagine if, for example after the world ends, it’s a zombie apocalypse in one area, Mad Max bikers in another region, cannibal cult in another, and so on.

Amirpour's next project is one she bills as a “Texas cannibal love story.”

Fellow cops at the 26th Precinct in upper Manhattan wondered if they really had been working with a cannibal.

The headline: "Three Englishmen Saved From Boiling Pot By Cannibal Chief, Who Was Friend at Oxford."

And cruder devices certainly deepen the effect of a name; Caliban is a rough anagram of “cannibal,” and Cassio contains an “ass.”

The Cannibal Cop may end up being saved by his own sick and shameful words.

They admit that a Feejee cannibal has just the same "mighty and transcendent soul" that they themselves have.

I knew that an Irishman could become anything from a poet to a policeman, but I never heard of one becoming a cannibal before.

The Prince of Taranto, while speaking and acting like a cannibal, was following the inspiration of an atrocious policy.

The dark type, which is black, is of a very low order, and in some of the islands still retains its cannibal habits.

She roasted some meat, a cannibal smelt it, and went to the cave, but found the door fastened.

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