carnivorous
UK /kɑːˈnɪv.ə.ɹəs/ · US /kɑɹˈnɪv.ə.ɹəs/ adjective
- adjective Of, or relating to carnivores, or the taxonomic order Carnivora. “carnivorous animal”
- adjective Flesh-eating; (usually also specifically) predatorily so: that is, predatory. “carnivorous diet”
- adjective (botany) Insectivorous: capable of trapping insects and absorbing nutrient from them.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
From Latin carnivorus (“flesh-eating”).
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Eating or feeding on flesh. The term is applied: (a) to animals which naturally seek flesh for food, as the tiger, dog, etc.; (b) to plants which are supposed to absorb animal food; (c) to substances which destroy animal tissue, as caustics.
Etymology [L. carnivorus; caro, carnis, flesh + varare to devour.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “carnivorous”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details