parasitic Hear it!

parasitic Definition

para·sitic (par′ə sitik)

adjective

  1. of or like a parasite; living at the expense of others
  2. caused by parasites, as a disease
  3. of or designating a subsidiary volcano, crater, etc. that forms on the side of another one

Etymology: L parasiticus < Gr parasitikos

parasitic Related Forms
par′a·siti·cally adverb
parasitic Usage Examples

Modifying Another Word

  • not: They are evidently not parasitic; their source of food is unknown.
  • always: But surely the study of culture is always parasitic on history?
  • essentially: The economics and the psychology of these elements is essentially parasitic in character.
  • entirely: The plant is entirely parasitic on Nettles and feeds on their sap using especially adapted ' suckers ' .
  • increasingly: It is an increasingly parasitic class, driven by its own short-term interests.
  • partially: The plant itself is extraordinary, being partially parasitic.

Preposition: on

  • plant: These are usually parasitic on aquatic plants or fish.
  • animal: Many live in soil or in salt- or fresh- water; others are parasitic on animals and plants.
  • one: Whereas false ministries like the cults and denominational liberalism are parasitic on authentic ones.

Modifies a noun

  • nematode: Plant parasitic nematodes cause over $ 125 billion annual losses to world agriculture.
  • wasp: However, parasitic wasps are quick to find the eggs.
  • protozoon: This booklet illustrates the extent of parasitic protozoa in the British wild fauna.
  • capacitance: Increasing switch size to reduce on resistance adds to the parasitic capacitance, thus slowing the operation.
  • infestation: Lack of parasitic infestation might explain some of the increase in allergies during the past 30 years.
  • helminth: This parasite must be considered one of the most pathogenic of the parasitic helminths.

Used with adjective complement

  • become: Interest happens to be the income of a social group that has been known from time to time to become particularly parasitic.

Preposition: in

  • rat: L3 larvae invasive. e.g. Nippostrongylus brasiliensis - parasitic in rats and mice.
  • nature: The remaining classes of platyhelminthes are all parasitic in nature.