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cannibal Definition

can·ni·bal (kanə bəl)

noun

  1. a person who eats human flesh
  2. an animal that eats its own kind

Etymology: Sp canibal, a savage, cannibal (term used by Columbus) < Arawakan Caniba, a cannibal people; akin to Carib galibi, lit., strong men

adjective

of, resembling, or having the habits of cannibals

cannibal Related Forms
can·ni·bal·ism′ noun can′·ni·bal·is·tic adjective
cannibal Synonyms

cannibal

n.

man-eater, headhunter, savage, native, primitive, aborigine, eater of one's own kind, ogre, ogress, anthropophagus, anthrophagite, anthropophaginian; see also savage 1.

cannibal Usage Examples

Adjective modifier

  • German: But the 'Rock DJ ' singer is not the only star on the German cannibal 's menu.

Converse of object

  • brand: Jul 03, 09:23 Depp branded a cannibal by tribesmen Johnny Depp is branded a cannibal by the tribesman of the Dominica island.
  • become: He was not an ordinary boy, because he had become a cannibal, which means he killed people and ate them!
  • do: What did the cannibal do after he dumped his girlfriend?
  • eat: One song that stuck in my mind sounded like a mixture between that " I eat cannibals " song and Las Ketchup.
  • feature: Cue a stunning series of marvelous misadventures that feature cannibals and monsters, sword-play and seduction.

Converse of subject

  • eat: The food chain affects us all; only a few will be eaten by cannibals.
  • inhabit: A traveler wandering on an island inhabited entirely by cannibals comes upon a butcher shop.
  • hunt: Many had incredible adventures, chased by wild animals, hunted by cannibals, discovering lost worlds.
  • attack: When the detective is attacked by cannibals, McCabe escapes back to the trading outpost where he falls in with Rymer.

Modifies a noun

  • feast: On 30th December the party, much stronger after their cannibal feast, set off again.
  • movie: In fact, Deep River Savages is perhaps the most conventionally entertaining of all the cannibal movies.
  • film: Horror can only follow Another month, another Italian cannibal film.
  • family: The cannibal family lives in a cave on animal skins, but use binoculars and CB radio to co-ordinate their movements.
  • killer: She chooses a notorious subject for her thesis ­ the cannibal killer Oliver Hartwin ( King Kong's Thomas Kretschmann ).
  • island: You would have thought we were to land upon a cannibal island.

Noun used with modifier

  • pygmy: He ran away from home at a young age and set up home with a local tribe of pygmy cannibals.
cannibal Quotes

Better sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian.

—Melville, Herman

Browse dictionary entries near cannibal

  1. Cannes
  2. cannery
  3. canner
  4. cannelloni
  5. cannellini bean
  6. cannel (coal)
  7. cannel
  8. canned
  9. Cannae
  10. cannabis
  1. cannibalistic
  2. cannibalize
  3. cannikin
  4. cannily
  5. canniness
  6. canning
  7. cannoli
  8. cannon
  9. cannon bone
  10. cannon fodder