creature

[ kree-cher ]

/ ˈkri tʃər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR creature ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an animal, especially a nonhuman: the creatures of the woods and fields; a creature from outer space.

anything created, whether animate or inanimate.

person; human being: She is a charming creature. The driver of a bus is sometimes an irritable creature.

an animate being.

a person whose position or fortune is owed to someone or something and who continues under the control or influence of that person or thing: The cardinal was a creature of Louis XI.

Scot. and Older U.S. Use. intoxicating liquor, especially whiskey (usually preceded by the): He drinks a bit of the creature before bedtime.

Nearby words

Origin of creature

1250–1300; Middle English creature < Late Latin creātūra act of creating. See create, -ure

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

Examples from the Web for creature

Indeed, Dr. Shaheed has noted that Rouhani has only “limited authority” to change the system of which he is a creature.
Iran’s Horrific Human-Rights Record|Sen. Mark Kirk, Sen. Marco Rubio|November 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This level-headed man of logic, however, is also a creature of moods and funks.
Will the Real Jim Palmer Please Stand Up|Tom Boswell|September 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In its earliest years, the New York Fed was literally a creature of Wall Street.
The Incredible 'Wussiness' Of The Fed Vs Goldman Sachs—Caught On Tape|Daniel Gross|September 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That creature threatened the goats until the biggest one butted him off the bridge, never to trouble pedestrians again.
Dems Troll Christie on Bridgegate|Olivia Nuzzi|September 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Every aspect of how these vampires exist as a creature had to be imagined.
Vampires without Glitter or Girl Problems: Inside Guillermo del Toro’s ‘The Strain’|Andrew Romano|July 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There was a fanciful suggestion of the eavesdropper about the creature; his attitude was almost furtive.
The Hound From The North|Ridgwell Cullum
For indeed I am not of consequence enough for my master to concern himself, and be angry about such a creature as me.
Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded|Samuel Richardson
Was she merely a creature bred of the teeming earth, or had she an individuality beyond the earth?
Jess|H. Rider Haggard
And then he gave us a perfect and laughable description of what must be some creature of the monkey tribe.
Adventures in New Guinea|James Chalmers
The existence of a devil—a creature made by God, and the author of evil that will exist forever.
Handbook of Freethought|Various

British Dictionary definitions for creature

creature

/ (ˈkriːtʃə) /

noun

a living being, esp an animal

something that has been created, whether animate or inanimatea creature of the imagination

a human being; person: used as a term of scorn, pity, or endearment

a person who is dependent upon another; tool or puppet

Derived Formscreatural or creaturely, adjectivecreatureliness, noun

Word Origin for creature

C13: from Church Latin crēatūra, from Latin crēare to create

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 creature

creature

late 13c., "anything created," also "living being," from Old French creature (Modern French créature), from Late Latin creatura "thing created," from creatus, past participle of Latin creare "create" (see create). Meaning "anything that ministers to man's comforts" (1610s), after I Tim. iv:4, led to jocular use for "whiskey" (1630s).