feline
Americanadjective
-
belonging or pertaining to the cat family, Felidae.
-
catlike; characteristic of animals of the cat family.
a feline tread.
-
sly, stealthy, or treacherous.
noun
adjective
-
of, relating to, or belonging to the Felidae , a family of predatory mammals, including cats, lions, leopards, and cheetahs, typically having a round head and retractile claws: order Carnivora (carnivores)
-
resembling or suggestive of a cat, esp in stealth or grace
noun
Other Word Forms
- felinely adverb
- felineness noun
- felinity noun
- unfeline adjective
Etymology
Origin of feline
1675–85; < Latin fēl ( ēs ) ( see Felis) + -ine 1; compare Late Latin fēlīneus of a wild cat
Explanation
You can describe your kitten as your young feline friend, since feline describes anything having to do with cats. The adjective feline is useful when you're talking about cats — just as canine describes dogs, and ursine describes bears. You might talk about the special feline food and toys you buy for your pet, or describe his feline beauty. You can even describe a person as feline, if something about him or her is catlike. The Latin root felinus means "of or belonging to a cat," from feles, "cat."
Vocabulary lists containing feline
A Lexical Zoo of Animal Adjectives
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Cat Vocabulary: A Feline Lexicon
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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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 compared tumor and healthy tissue samples across 13 different types of feline cancer, allowing direct comparisons with cancers in humans and dogs.
From Science Daily • Mar. 18, 2026
WSJ | Buy Side: The best cat insurance lets you make medical decisions for your feline based on the optimal treatment, not cost.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026
The company, founded in 1948, is known for its emblematic sneakers such as the Speedcat and its lunging feline logo, and makes athletic wear, accessories and equipment.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026
The provincial livestock office had earlier said preliminary tests showed the tigers had been infected with feline parvovirus.
From BBC • Feb. 23, 2026
The cats wove around us in what could only be interpreted as feline impatience.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
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.
