feline
Americanadjective
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belonging or pertaining to the cat family, Felidae.
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catlike; characteristic of animals of the cat family.
a feline tread.
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sly, stealthy, or treacherous.
noun
adjective
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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
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.
One notable example is the similarity between feline mammary cancer and human breast cancer.
From Science Daily • Mar. 18, 2026
Next year’s “Gatto,” about a feline thief in Venice, features animal fur and human hair that look like they were painted by hand, rather than a computer trying to simulate the real thing.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 7, 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 international team led by the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge examined around 1,000 genes linked to 13 types of feline cancer.
From BBC • Feb. 19, 2026
But the Song of the Family had become as fierce and sharp and feline as the snarl of a female puma.
From "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck
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.
