cinereous
Americanadjective
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in the state of or reduced to ashes.
cinereous bodies.
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resembling ashes.
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ashen; ash-colored; grayish.
a cinereous bird.
adjective
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of a greyish colour
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resembling or consisting of ashes
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.
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 chicks’ shockingly orange appearance is all the more striking since adult cinereous mourners are a dialed-back dull gray.
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
Nuthatch, above blue: line above the eye, front, and middle of the lateral tail-feathers black; beneath cinereous brown, ears lilac, chin white.
From Zoological Illustrations, Volume I or Original Figures and Descriptions of New, Rare, or Interesting Animals by Swainson, William
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.
