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carnivorous
The definition of carnivorous is an animal that eats the meat of other animals, or a plant that traps and digests insects or other small animals.
(adjective)- A person who eats meat is an example of someone who would be described as carnivorous.
- A Venus Fly Trap is an example of a carnivorous plant.
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See carnivorous in Webster's New World College Dictionary
adjective
- flesh-eating
- insect-eating, as certain plants
- of the carnivores
Origin: L carnivorus < caro, flesh (see harvest) + vorare, to devour (see voracious)
Related Forms:
- carnivorously adverb
- carnivorousness noun
See carnivorous in American Heritage Dictionary 4
adjective
- Of or relating to carnivores.
- Flesh-eating or predatory: a carnivorous bird.
- Characterized by destructive or predatory behavior or instincts: “a city becoming increasingly carnivorous as it becomes decreasingly serious about governance” (George F. Will).
- Botany Capable of trapping insects or other small organisms and absorbing nutrients from them; insectivorous.
Origin:
Origin: From Latin carnivorus
Origin: : carō, carn-, flesh; see sker-1 in Indo-European roots
Origin: + -vorus, -vorous
.Related Forms:
- car·nivˈo·rous·ly adverb
- car·nivˈo·rous·ness noun
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