feline
Americanadjective
-
belonging or pertaining to the cat family, Felidae.
-
catlike; characteristic of animals of the cat family.
a feline tread.
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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)
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resembling or suggestive of a cat, esp in stealth or grace
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
"The Tiger can still bite you harder than he has bitten you at the ballot box," he said in reference to the feline nickname he gave himself.
From Barron's • Jun. 22, 2026
The unpleasant market metaphor refers to the idea that even a lifeless feline when dropped from a height may initially ricochet off the ground.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026
This is the UK's last remaining wild feline and only found in the Cairngorm mountains - sometimes called the Scottish tiger.
From BBC • May 29, 2026
"We can now begin to take the next steps forwards towards precision feline oncology, to catch up with the diagnostic and therapeutic options that are available for dogs with cancer, and ultimately one day, humans."
From Science Daily • May 24, 2026
The cat slept, even as Orion lifted his ears and turned his nose in the direction of the feline.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
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.
