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cinereous

American  
[si-neer-ee-uhs] / sɪˈnɪər i əs /
Also cineritious

adjective

  1. in the state of or reduced to ashes.

    cinereous bodies.

  2. resembling ashes.

  3. ashen; ash-colored; grayish.

    a cinereous bird.


cinereous British  
/ ˌsɪnəˈrɪʃəs, sɪˈnɪərɪəs /

adjective

  1. of a greyish colour

  2. resembling or consisting of ashes

"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

Etymology

Origin of cinereous

1655–65; < Latin cinereus, equivalent to ciner- (stem of cinis ) ashes + -eus -eous

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:

They examined the cinereous vulture, a “ripper,” and the Andean condor, a “gulper,” as well as several eagles that hunted prey of various sizes.

From New York Times Nov. 30, 2021

Africa has already lost one of its eleven vulture species—the cinereous vulture—and now seven others are listed as either critically endangered or endangered.

From National Geographic Nov. 22, 2017

The larval form of a flannel moth, known as a puss caterpillar, that is related to the poisonous species that cinereous mourner chicks mimic.

From Newsweek Feb. 25, 2015

There are understory flocks led by Thamnomanes antshrikes — here cinereous and dusky-throated antshrikes.

From New York Times Oct. 27, 2010

Olive, beneath whitish; crown black; nape, sides of the head and neck pale cinereous; breast, sides, and under wing-covers yellow.

From Zoological Illustrations, Volume I or Original Figures and Descriptions of New, Rare, or Interesting Animals by Swainson, William

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