parasitic
adjective
par·a·sit·ic
| \ ˌper-ə-ˈsi-tik
, ˌpa-rə-\
, ˌpa-rə-\
variants:
or less commonly parasitical \ ˌper-ə-ˈsi-ti-kəl
, ˌpa-rə- \
, ˌpa-rə- \
Definition of parasitic
1
: of, relating to, or being a parasite: such as
a(1)
: living on another organism in parasitism
Some caterpillars even sport white spots that resemble the eggs of the parasitic wasps that prey upon caterpillars …— Mary Parker Sonis a parasitic yeast/plant Filariasis, caused by parasitic worms in the human lymphatic system and carried in mosquitoes, infects some eighty million people in tropical and subtropical regions of the world.— Wayne Biddle
(2)
: caused by or resulting from the effects of parasites
a parasitic disease/infection
(3)
of a bird
: laying eggs in the nest of another bird
The cowbird and the cuckoo are parasitic birds.
b
: exploiting the hospitality of others : depending on another or others for existence or support without making a useful or adequate return
… manipulated and glorified by self-serving, parasitic northern bureaucrats.— Edward Friedman
2
phonetics
: of, relating to, or constituting a speech sound that is interposed between two other sounds usually as a by-product of transition from one place of articulation to another
The \ə\ in \ˈeləm\ for elm or in \ˈathəˌlēt\ for athlete, the \t\ in \fents\ for fence, and the \b\ and b in \ˈnimbəl\ nimble from Middle English nimel are parasitic.
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Other Words from parasitic
parasitically
\ ˌper-ə-ˈsi-ti-kəl
, ˌpa-rə- \
adverb
, ˌpa-rə- \
adverb
During sexually quiescent phase, lampreys live simply, communally or parasitically upon other fish.
— Earl W. Count
… those who live parasitically on the political system …
— John Derbyshire
Examples of parasitic in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Offshore: Small flocks of red-necked phalaropes, parasitic and pomarine jaegers, roseate terns, and larger groups of storm-petrels and shearwaters numbering into the hundreds were seen from Jeffrey’s Ledge. — BostonGlobe.com, "Bird sightings," 4 Aug. 2019 Anglers engage in parasitic mating where male anglers, which are typically much smaller than the females, become permanently fused together. — Daisy Hernandez, Popular Mechanics, "Why the Anglerfish Continues To Haunt Our Dreams," 30 July 2019 The other theory—which Pipitone says is currently most researchers’ favorite—says that clusters of holes are visually similar to rashes or lesions caused by parasitic or infectious diseases. — Natasha Lavender, SELF, "Is Trypophobia Really a Fear of Holes or Something Else Entirely?," 26 July 2019 It was originally developed to tackle breast cancer, but the drug became the leading option to treat another parasitic infection, leishmaniasis. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "Brain-eating amoeba kills again—here’s how it kills and how to avoid it," 26 July 2019 These herbs attract beneficial parasitic and predatory wasps that kill bad bugs and larvae. — Thad Orr, Sunset, "Your Essential Gardening To-Do List for April," 22 Jan. 2018 Still, this isn't an e-bike that needs its assist on full time because there is so much parasitic loss in the motor to overcome. — Matt Phillips, Popular Mechanics, "The Specialized Turbo Creo SL Is an E-Bike That Changes Everything," 16 July 2019 However, the rash-causing, itch-inducing jellyfish larvae are not be confused with the small, parasitic crustaceans which feed on fish to survive (read: actual sea lice), according to the Divers Alert Network. — Brittany Brown, baltimoresun.com, "Sea lice have been stinging at Virginia Beach. Is Ocean City next?," 13 July 2019 To environmentalists, the early grass carp invasion is a reminder of what happened with the eel-like sea lamprey, the parasitic fish responsible for crashing the native lake trout population. — Tony Briscoe, chicagotribune.com, "The Great Lakes could be on the ‘edge of an invasion’ by a little-discussed species of Asian carp," 21 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'parasitic.' 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 parasitic
parasitic
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of parasitic
of an animal or plant
: living in or on another animal or plant and getting food or protection from it
: caused by a parasite
disapproving
: getting food, money, etc., from other people without doing anything to earn it or deserve it
See the full definition for parasitic in the English Language Learners Dictionary
parasitic
adjective
par·a·sit·ic
| \ ˌper-ə-ˈsi-tik\
Kids Definition of parasitic
: relating to or having the habit of a parasite : caused by parasites
a parasitic worm parasitic diseases
parasitic
adjective
par·a·sit·ic
| \ ˌpar-ə-ˈsit-ik
\
\
variants:
also parasitical \ -i-kəl
\
\
Medical Definition of parasitic
(Entry 1 of 2)
Other Words from parasitic
parasitically
\ -i-k(ə-)lē
\
adverb
\
adverb
parasitic
nounMedical Definition of parasitic (Entry 2 of 2)
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