ANIMAL

Pronunciation (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does animal mean? 

• ANIMAL (noun)
  The noun ANIMAL has 1 sense:

1. a living organism characterized by voluntary movement

  Familiarity information: ANIMAL used as a noun is very rare.

• ANIMAL (adjective)
  The adjective ANIMAL has 2 senses:

1. marked by the appetites and passions of the body
2. of the nature of or characteristic of or derived from an animal or animals

  Familiarity information: ANIMAL used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ANIMAL (noun)

Sense 1

animal [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A living organism characterized by voluntary movement

Classified under:

Nouns with no superordinates

Synonyms:

animal; animate being; beast; creature; fauna; brute

Hypernyms ("animal" is a kind of...):

being; organism (a living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act or function independently)

Meronyms (parts of "animal"):

caput; head (the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains)

face (the part of an animal corresponding to the human face)

Meronyms (substance of "animal"):

animal tissue (the tissue in the bodies of animals)

Domain member category:

bone-covered ((of animals) armored with bone)

free-swimming; unattached ((of animals) able to swim about; not attached)

hispid ((of animals or plants) having stiff coarse hairs or bristles)

crested; topknotted; tufted ((of a bird or animal) having a usually ornamental tuft or process on the head; often used in combination)

phytophagic; phytophagous; phytophilous; plant-eating ((of animals) feeding on plants)

crop; graze; pasture (let feed in a field or pasture or meadow)

all-devouring ((of animals) both plant-eating and flesh-eating)

flesh-eating; meat-eating; zoophagous ((of animals) carnivorous)

insectivorous ((of animals and plants) feeding on insects)

epizootic ((of animals) epidemic among animals of a single kind within a particular region)

adult; big; full-grown; fully grown; grown; grownup ((of animals) fully developed)

half-blooded; half-bred; half-breed ((of animals) having only one purebred parent)

registered ((of animals) officially recorded with or certified by a recognized breed association; especially in a stud book)

unregistered ((of animals) not recorded with or certified by an official breed association)

gregarious ((of animals) tending to form a group with others of the same species)

social (tending to move or live together in groups or colonies of the same kind)

drench (force to drink)

domesticate; domesticise; domesticize; reclaim; tame (overcome the wildness of; make docile and tractable)

domesticate; tame (make fit for cultivation, domestic life, and service to humans)

ritual killing; sacrifice (the act of killing (an animal or person) in order to propitiate a deity)

tracking; trailing (the pursuit (of a person or animal) by following tracks or marks they left behind)

micro-organism; microorganism (any organism of microscopic size)

actinomycete (any bacteria (some of which are pathogenic for humans and animals) belonging to the order Actinomycetales)

trap (a device in which something (usually an animal) can be caught and penned)

humaneness (the quality of compassion or consideration for others (people or animals))

body; organic structure; physical structure (the entire structure of an organism (especially an animal or human being))

side (either the left or right half of a body)

nose (the sense of smell (especially in animals))

bone; debone (remove the bones from)

schistosome dermatitis; swimmer's itch (a sensitization reaction to repeated invasion of the skin by cercariae of schistosomes)

wart (any small rounded protuberance (as on certain plants or animals))

stander (an organism (person or animal) that stands)

sitter (an organism (person or animal) that sits)

transmitter; vector (any agent (person or animal or microorganism) that carries and transmits a disease)

diet (the usual food and drink consumed by an organism (person or animal))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "animal"):

mate (the partner of an animal (especially a sexual partner))

chordate (any animal of the phylum Chordata having a notochord or spinal column)

conceptus; embryo; fertilized egg (an animal organism in the early stages of growth and differentiation that in higher forms merge into fetal stages but in lower forms terminate in commencement of larval life)

zooplankton (animal constituent of plankton; mainly small crustaceans and fish larvae)

pleurodont (an animal having teeth consolidate with the inner surface of the alveolar ridge without sockets)

acrodont (an animal having teeth consolidated with the summit of the alveolar ridge without sockets)

insectivore (any organism that feeds mainly on insects)

herbivore (any animal that feeds chiefly on grass and other plants)

mutant (an animal that has undergone mutation)

survivor (an animal that survives in spite of adversity)

giant (any creature of exceptional size)

invertebrate (any animal lacking a backbone or notochord; the term is not used as a scientific classification)

metazoan (any animal of the subkingdom Metazoa; all animals except protozoans and sponges)

captive (an animal that is confined)

fictional animal (animals that exist only in fiction (usually in children's stories))

racer (an animal that races)

larva (the immature free-living form of most invertebrates and amphibians and fish which at hatching from the egg is fundamentally unlike its parent and must metamorphose)

biped (an animal with two feet)

hexapod (an animal having six feet)

game (animal hunted for food or sport)

prey; quarry (animal hunted or caught for food)

predator; predatory animal (any animal that lives by preying on other animals)

omnivore (an animal that feeds on both animal and vegetable substances)

pureblood; purebred; thoroughbred (a pedigreed animal of unmixed lineage; used especially of horses)

offspring; young (any immature animal)

scavenger (any animal that feeds on refuse and other decaying organic matter)

varment; varmint (any usually predatory wild animal considered undesirable; e.g., coyote)

range animal (any animal that lives and grazes in the grassy open land of western North America (especially horses, cattle, sheep))

ectotherm; poikilotherm (an animal whose body temperature varies with the temperature of its surroundings; any animal except birds and mammals)

homeotherm; homoiotherm; homotherm (an animal that has a body temperature that is relatively constant and independent of the environmental temperature)

peeper (an animal that makes short high-pitched sounds)

darter (a person or other animal that moves abruptly and rapidly)

creepy-crawly (an animal that creeps or crawls (such as worms or spiders or insects))

critter (a regional term for creature (especially domestic animals))

pest (any unwanted and destructive insect or other animal that attacks food or crops or livestock etc.)

work animal (an animal trained for and used for heavy labor)

domestic animal (any of various domesticated animals)

adult (any mature animal)

male (an animal that produces gametes (spermatozoa) that can fertilize female gametes (ova))

female (an animal that produces gametes (ova) that can be fertilized by male gametes (spermatozoa))

marine animal; marine creature; sea animal; sea creature (any of numerous animals inhabiting the sea including e.g. fishes and molluscs and many mammals)

stunt (a creature (especially a whale) that has been prevented from attaining full growth)

stayer (a person or other animal having powers of endurance or perseverance)

pet (a domesticated animal kept for companionship or amusement)

molter; moulter (an animal (especially birds and arthropods and reptiles) that periodically shed their outer layer (feathers or cuticle or skin or hair))

migrator (an animal (especially birds and fish) that travels between different habitats at particular times of the year)

feeder (an animal that feeds on a particular source of food)

Holonyms ("animal" is a member of...):

animal kingdom; Animalia; kingdom Animalia (taxonomic kingdom comprising all living or extinct animals)

• ANIMAL (adjective)

Sense 1

animal [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Marked by the appetites and passions of the body

Synonyms:

animal; carnal; fleshly; sensual

Context examples:

animal instincts / carnal knowledge / fleshly desire / a sensual delight in eating / music is the only sensual pleasure without vice

Similar:

physical (involving the body as distinguished from the mind or spirit)

Sense 2

animal [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Of the nature of or characteristic of or derived from an animal or animals

Context examples:

the animal kingdom / animal instincts / animal fats

Similar:

plover-like (resembling a plover)

protozoa-like (resembling a protozoa)

quail-like (resembling a quail)

raccoon-like (resembling a raccoon)

ray-like (resembling a ray)

reptile-like (resembling a reptile)

rodent-like (resembling a rodent)

salmon-like (resembling a salmon)

pike-like (resembling the pike)

pig-like (resembling a pig)

mongoose-like (resembling a mongoose)

monkey-like (resembling a monkey)

mosquito-like (resembling a mosquito)

moth-like (resembling a moth)

mullet-like (resembling a mullet)

ostrich-like (resembling an ostrich)

perch-like (resembling a perch)

pigeon-like (resembling a pigeon)

sandpiper-like (resembling a sandpiper)

scorpion-like (resembling a scorpion)

shad-like (resembling the shad)

vole-like (resembling a vole)

turkey-like (resembling a turkey)

tuna-like (resembling a tuna)

trout-like; troutlike (resembling a trout)

thrush-like (resembling a thrush)

tadpole-like (resembling a tadpole)

stork-like (resembling a stork)

starfish-like (resembling a starfish)

squirrel-like (resembling a squirrel)

spitz-like (resembling a spitz)

sparrow-like (resembling a sparrow)

snail-like (resembling a snail)

snake-like; snake-shaped (resembling a snake)

sloth-like (resembling a sloth)

siskin-like (resembling a siskin)

shrimp-like (resembling a shrimp)

shrike-like (resembling a shrike)

whippoorwill-like (resembling a whippoorwill)

mammal-like (resembling a mammal)

lobster-like (resembling a lobster)

carp-like (resembling a carp)

cat-like; catlike (resembling a cat)

cicada-like (resembling a cicada)

cod-like (resembling a cod)

cow-like (resembling a cow)

crane-like; cranelike (resembling a crane)

cricket-like (resembling a cricket)

crocodile-like (resembling a crocodile)

bird-like; birdlike (resembling a bird)

bee-like (resembling a bee)

alligator-like (resembling an alligator)

ameba-like; amoeba-like (resembling an amoeba)

animal-like; animallike (resembling or having characteristics of an animal)

antelope-like (resembling an antelope)

ant-like (resembling an ant)

arachnid-like (resembling an arachnid)

badger-like (resembling a badger)

beaver-like (resembling a beaver)

dace-like (resembling a dace)

deer-like (resembling a deer)

grub-like (resembling a grub)

gull-like (resembling a gull)

hare-like (resembling a hare)

hawk-like; hawklike (resembling a hawk)

herring-like (resembling a herring)

horse-like; horselike (resembling a horse)

insect-like; insectlike (resembling an insect)

lizard-like (resembling a lizard)

goat-like (resembling a goat)

frog-like (resembling a frog)

dinosaur-like (resembling a dinosaur)

duck-like (resembling a duck)

eagle-like; eaglelike (resembling an eagle)

elephant-like (resembling an elephant)

ferret-like (resembling a ferret)

finch-like (resembling a finch)

fish-like; fishlike (resembling a fish)

fox-like; foxlike (resembling a fox)

Antonym:

mineral (of or containing or derived from minerals)

vegetable (of the nature of or characteristic of or derived from plants)