carnivorous
adjective
car·niv·o·rous
| \ kär-ˈni-v(ə-)rəs
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Definition of carnivorous
1
: subsisting or feeding on animal tissues
2
of a plant
: subsisting on nutrients obtained from the breakdown of animal protoplasm (as of insects)
3
: of or relating to the carnivores
4
: rapacious
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Other Words from carnivorous
carnivorously
adverb
carnivorousness
noun
carnivory
\ kär-ˈni-və-rē
\
noun
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noun
Examples of carnivorous in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But a byproduct of this carnivorous hankering is piling up, unloved and unwanted. — Los Angeles Times, "America is obsessed with beef. But it has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge," 19 Aug. 2019 But a byproduct of this carnivorous hankering is piling up, unloved and unwanted. — Lydia Mulvany, Fortune, "There’s a Cowhide Glut, As Americans Devour Beef and Leather Falls Out of Fashion," 9 Aug. 2019 The Texas Triffid Ranch exhibit is home to over 200 carnivorous, prehistoric, and exotic plants that eat microscopic organisms, flies, and nematodes. — Samantha Lopez, Houston Chronicle, "Dallas’ gallery shows off meat-eating plant predators," 16 July 2019 Many of their teeth have proved so bizarre that some palaeontologists have theorised that, far from being carnivorous, these ancient species might have been eating plants. — The Economist, "Vegetarian crocodiles once roamed the world," 28 June 2019 Complete with digitally rendered googly eyes, the carnivorous plant babbles about the necessity of composting humans if an ecological collapse is to be avoided. — J.w.s.w. | Berlin, The Economist, "The variegated symbolism of gardens in art," 1 Aug. 2019 Riddell encourages those curious about carnivorous plants to not be fearful and to spend some time studying them. — Samantha Lopez, Houston Chronicle, "Dallas’ gallery shows off meat-eating plant predators," 16 July 2019 From May to July, the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program counted the carnivorous plant in the state and its southern counterpart. — USA TODAY, "Glowing rock fight, Statehouse stash, hometown hero: News from around our 50 states," 15 July 2019 Dung beetles, flesh flies and other carnivorous insects that eat dead flesh are attracted to the odor in the plant’s native Sumatra. — oregonlive.com, "Rare corpse flower now blooming, and stinking, for the next 24-to-48 hours in Vancouver," 15 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'carnivorous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for carnivorous
carnivorous
adjective
car·niv·o·rous
| \ kär-ˈni-və-rəs
\
\
Kids Definition of carnivorous
: feeding on animal flesh or tissue
Wolves are carnivorous animals.
carnivorous
adjective
car·niv·o·rous
| \ kär-ˈniv-(ə-)rəs
\
\
Medical Definition of carnivorous
1
: subsisting or feeding on animal tissues
2
: of or relating to the carnivores
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