fissiparous

[ fi-sip-er-uhs ]

/ fɪˈsɪp ər əs /

Save This Word!

adjective

reproducing by fission.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of fissiparous

First recorded in 1825–35; fissi- + -parous

OTHER WORDS FROM fissiparous

fis·sip·a·rous·ly, adverbfis·sip·a·rous·ness, noun

Words nearby fissiparous

fission product, fission reactor, fission track, fission-track dating, fissipalmate, fissiparous, fissiped, fissirostral, fissure, fissure eruption, fissure of Rolando

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fissiparous in a sentence

The fissiparous tendency so perceptible in politics is not visible in cities.
Satan's Invisible World Displayed or, Despairing Democracy|W. T. Stead
Passing to the invertebrate animals, we meet with two other modes of reproduction, the gemmiparous and fissiparous.
The Religion of Geology and Its Connected Sciences|Edward Hitchcock
Fissiparous: applied to that form of asexual generation in which the parent divides; each part becoming a new individual.
Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology|John. B. Smith
Fissiparous, fis-sip′a-rus, adj. propagated by spontaneous fission or self-division.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M)|Various

Therefore, in all cases of fissiparous division, the seat or origin of the process is the nucleus.
Darwin, and After Darwin (Vol. 1 and 3, of 3)|George John Romanes

British Dictionary definitions for fissiparous

fissiparous

/ (fɪˈsɪpərəs) /

adjective

biology reproducing by fission

having a tendency to divide into groups or factions

Derived forms of fissiparous

fissiparously, adverbfissiparousness, noun

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