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hyena definition

hy·ena (hī ē′nə)

noun

any of various wolflike carnivores (family Hyaenidae) of Africa and Asia, with powerful jaws, a bristly mane, short hind legs, and a characteristic shrill cry: hyenas feed on carrion and are thought of as cowardly

Etymology: L hyaena < Gr hyaina, hyena, lit., sow (so called from its hoglike mane) < hys, a hog (+ -aina, fem. suffix) < IE base *sū-, hog > swine

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

hyena Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • spot: Special sightings included lion, spotted hyena, bush pig, buffalo, hippo and many large and strange birds.

Converse of subject

  • eat: It is entitled, " I was eaten by a hyena.

Adjective modifier

  • spotted: Watching while the spotted hyenas were 'laughing ' made for some surreal video footage!

Modifies a noun

  • den: Civets and genets leave dung middens in the caves, and one cave was in use as a hyena den.

Noun used with modifier

  • cave: This is the lower jaw of a cave hyena.

Preposition: in

  • petticoat: One critic described Wollstonecraft as a " hyena in petticoats " .
hyena usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

hyena quotes

   What shall we say of the intelligence, not to say religion, of those who are so particular to distinguish between fishes and reptiles and birds, but put a man with an immortalsoul inthesame circlewiththewolf, thehyena, and theskunk? What must betheimpressionmadeupon children by such a degradation of man?

-Bryan,WilliamJennings

hyena quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"hyena." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/hyena>

APA Style

hyena. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/hyena

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