carrion

[ kar-ee-uhn ]

noun

1. dead and putrefying flesh.
2. rottenness; anything vile.

adjective

1. feeding on carrion.

carrion

/ ˈkærɪən /

noun

1. dead and rotting flesh
2. modifier eating carrion

   carrion beetles

3. something rotten or repulsive

Word History and Origins

Origin of carrion¹

1175–1225; Middle English caroyne, careyn, carion < Anglo-French careine, Old French charo ( i ) gne < Vulgar Latin *caronia, equivalent to Latin carun- ( caruncle ) + -ia -y ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of carrion¹

C13: from Anglo-French caroine, ultimately from Latin carō flesh

Example Sentences

Many herbivores will opportunistically scarf down carrion for protein, Gerlach says.

From Science News

Or, when escape is all but impossible, it makes animals play dead or faint, as most predators avoid eating carrion.

From Nautilus

Its steady gait allowed it to range widely in a day, where it preyed on smaller dinosaurs like ceratopsians and hadrosaurs, and, contrary to its fierce reputation, sometimes scavenged on carrion.

From Nautilus

Caracaras are frequently ground-dwellers, clacking around on the rocks and scavenging smaller birds, eggs, insects and carrion.

From Washington Post

The carcass then attracts other creatures like carrion birds, which can also get hit, creating a miserable cycle of wildlife death.

From Popular-Science

Carrion resigned as Bronx borough president to join the Obama administration in Washington.

From The Daily Beast

Bonami knew and liked her work and Carrion-Murayari concurred.

From The Daily Beast

She had similar fears when 2010 Biennial curators Bonami and Gary Carrion-Murayari came calling last year.

From The Daily Beast

Bonami and Carrion-Murayari write that “time is what makes shows different from one another.”

From The Daily Beast

Bonami and Carrion-Murayari wanted to do something different with the video artists included.

From The Daily Beast

There are poets and writers who see naught in war but carrion, filth, savagery and horror.

From Project Gutenberg

As he advanced, three crows flew, coming from some carrion spoil they had found within.

From Project Gutenberg

Over in the field a flock of crows and kites were wheeling,—some carrion,—but Mary did not go near.

From Project Gutenberg

But there poured upon him an overpowering smell of carrion; putrefying lambs, chamois, and birds lay here torn to pieces.

From Project Gutenberg

On the extreme summit of a feather-pine, the carrion crows croaked and rocked in the soft breeze.

From Project Gutenberg