parasitic

American  

[par-uh-sit-ik] / ˌpær əˈsɪt ɪk /

Sometimes parasitical

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of parasites.

2. (of diseases) due to parasites.

3. Phonetics. excrescent.

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Other Word Forms

• antiparasitic noun
• antiparasitical adjective
• antiparasitically adverb
• nonparasitic adjective
• nonparasitical adjective
• nonparasitically adverb
• parasitically adverb
• parasiticalness noun
• pseudoparasitic adjective
• unparasitic adjective
• unparasitical adjective
• unparasitically adverb

Etymology

Origin of parasitic

1620–30; < Latin parasīticus < Greek parasītikós. See parasite, -ic

Example Sentences

Joseph's Coat grows naturally along Brazil's coastline and has long been used in traditional medicine to treat inflammation, infections, and parasitic illnesses.

From Science Daily

The samples were divided between laboratories at Cambridge and Oxford, where scientists examined them under microscopes to search for ancient helminth eggs, which are produced by parasitic worms that infect humans and animals.

From Science Daily

Their findings, published in New Phytologist, trace the plant's evolutionary history, reveal how its internal structures have adapted to a parasitic lifestyle, and open new doors for future research into this unusual lineage.

From Science Daily

That history is now driving a new effort by researchers at the University of California Riverside, who are working to stop the parasitic fly before it can reestablish itself.

From Science Daily

The cuckoo is a parasitic bird that deposits its eggs in the nests of other birds, who then raise its hatchlings with their own.

From The Wall Street Journal