carnivorous Hear it!

carnivorous Definition

car·nivo·rous (kär nivə rəs)

adjective

    1. flesh-eating
    2. insect-eating, as certain plants
  1. of the carnivores

Etymology: L carnivorus < caro, flesh (see harvest) + vorare, to devour (see voracious)

carnivorous Related Forms
car·nivo·rously adverb car·nivo·rous·ness noun
carnivorous Synonyms

carnivorous

modif.

carnivorous Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • dinosaur: Right up until the 1990s, T. rex was thought to be the largest carnivorous dinosaur that had ever lived.
  • mammal: Rodents are important members of food chains - serving as food for large numbers of carnivorous mammals and birds.
  • predator: Man is a carnivorous predator, and hunting, not horse racing, is " the sport of kings.
  • plant: Lovers of the gruesome can see how carnivorous plants have evolved to eat meat!
  • animal: Marine reptiles: a group of mostly large, carnivorous animals many of which lived in the oceans during the Mesozoic period.
  • diet: The Vegetarian Society says that studies have found a purely carnivorous diet could be bad for dogs.

Modifying Another Word

  • mainly: Although mainly carnivorous, the polecat has a varied diet consisting of voles, mice, rabbits and rats.
  • fiercely: Like the larvae, the adults are fiercely carnivorous.
  • mostly: They are mostly carnivorous, and eat other pests such as slugs, so they are generally beneficial in the garden.
  • very: He showed me a figure made at this time, a very carnivorous British lion about to eat Napoleon.

Used with adjective complement

  • become: Evidently for the same reason many animals also had to become carnivorous.

Browse dictionary entries near carnivorous

  1. Carnivore Sniffer
  2. carnivore
  3. carnivalesque
  4. carnival
  5. carnify
  6. carnet
  7. carnelian
  8. Carnegie, Andrew
  9. Carnegie
  10. carnauba
  1. Carnot
  2. carnotite
  3. carny
  4. carob
  5. caroche
  6. carol
  7. Carolina
  8. Carolina allspice
  9. Caroline
  10. Caroline Islands