tentacle

[ ten-tuh-kuh l ]

/ ˈtɛn tə kəl /

noun

Zoology. any of various slender, flexible processes or appendages in animals, especially invertebrates, that serve as organs of touch, prehension, etc.; feeler.

Botany. a sensitive filament or process, as one of the glandular hairs of the sundew.

Nearby words

tent fly, tent meeting, tent show, tent stitch, tent trailer, tentacular, tentacled, tentacular, tentage, tentation, tentative

Origin of tentacle

1755–65; < New Latin tentāculum, equivalent to Latin tentā(re) (variant of temptāre to feel, probe) + -culum -cule²

Related formsten·tac·u·lar

[ten-tak-yuh-ler] /tɛnˈtæk yə lər/, adjectiveten·ta·cle·like, ten·tac·u·loid, adjectivein·ter·ten·tac·u·lar, adjectivesub·ten·tac·u·lar, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tentacular

Initial charges against Sarkozy in that tentacular Bettencourt case had been dropped.
France’s Ex-Prez Sarkozy Placed Under Formal Investigation for Corruption|Tracy McNicoll|July 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I spent years writing a novel in which three characters get pulled into an elaborate and tentacular conspiracy.
Amazon’s Fight With Hachette Strands An Author In The Crossfire|David Shafer|June 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But even paranoid melodramatic self-aggrandizers sniff out nefarious and tentacular plots from time to time.
Amazon’s Fight With Hachette Strands An Author In The Crossfire|David Shafer|June 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Tentacular arms long, not retractile; resisting apparatus well developed.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 6|Various

I have curtailed it in order not to interfere with the representation of the lower lip and tentacular muco-cartilages.
The Origin of Vertebrates|Walter Holbrook Gaskell
Tentacular cirri similarly formed, as is also the first neurocirrus, the latter less clavate below the slender tip.
Journal of Entomology and Zoology, Vol. 11. No. 1.|Various
The stinging continued during the whole time that the minutest portion of the tentacular remained adherent to the skin.
The Ocean World:|Louis Figuier
Tentacular cirri much longer than the tentacles, attenuated distad, pointed.
Journal of Entomology and Zoology, Vol. 11. No. 1.|Various

British Dictionary definitions for tentacular

tentacle

/ (ˈtɛntəkəl) /

noun

any of various elongated flexible organs that occur near the mouth in many invertebrates and are used for feeding, grasping, etc

any of the hairs on the leaf of an insectivorous plant that are used to capture prey

something resembling a tentacle, esp in its ability to reach out or grasp

Derived Formstentacled, adjectivetentacle-like or tentaculoid (tɛnˈtækjʊˌlɔɪd), adjectivetentacular (tɛnˈtækjʊlə), adjective

Word Origin for tentacle

C18: from New Latin tentāculum, from Latin tentāre, variant of temptāre to feel

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

Word Origin and History for tentacular

tentacle

1762, from Modern Latin tentaculum "feeler," from Latin tentare "to feel, try" (variant of temptare "to feel, try, test") + -culum, diminutive suffix.

Medicine definitions for tentacular

tentacle

[ tĕn′tə-kəl ]

n.

An elongated, flexible, unsegmented extension, as one of those surrounding the mouth or oral cavity of the squid, used for feeling, grasping, or locomotion.

Science definitions for tentacular

tentacle

[ tĕn′tə-kəl ]

A narrow, flexible, unjointed part extending from the body of certain animals, such as an octopus, jellyfish, or sea anemone. Tentacles are used for feeling, grasping, or moving.