Dictionary entry details
• BEING (noun)
Meaning:
The state or fact of existing
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Synonyms:
being; beingness; existence
Context examples:
a point of view gradually coming into being / laws in existence for centuries
Hypernyms ("being" is a kind of...):
state (the way something is with respect to its main attributes)
Attribute:
existent; existing (having existence or being or actuality)
nonexistent (not having existence or being or actuality)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "being"):
transcendence; transcendency (a state of being or existence above and beyond the limits of material experience)
life (a characteristic state or mode of living)
aliveness; animation; life; living (the condition of living or the state of being alive)
life (the course of existence of an individual; the actions and events that occur in living)
presence (the state of being present; current existence)
subsistence (the state of existing in reality; having substance)
coexistence (existing peacefully together)
preexistence (existing in a former state or previous to something else)
eternity; timeless existence; timelessness (a state of eternal existence believed in some religions to characterize the afterlife)
actuality (the state of actually existing objectively)
possibility; possibleness (capability of existing or happening or being true)
Antonym:
nonbeing (the state of not being)
Meaning:
A living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act or function independently
Classified under:
Nouns with no superordinates
Synonyms:
organism; being
Hypernyms ("being" is a kind of...):
animate thing; living thing (a living (or once living) entity)
Meronyms (parts of "being"):
cell ((biology) the basic structural and functional unit of all organisms; they may exist as independent units of life (as in monads) or may form colonies or tissues as in higher plants and animals)
body part (any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity)
Meronyms (substance of "being"):
tissue (part of an organism consisting of an aggregate of cells having a similar structure and function)
Domain member category:
actinal ((of radiate organisms) located on the surface or end on which the mouth is situated)
cellular (characterized by or divided into or containing cells or compartments (the smallest organizational or structural unit of an organism or organization))
bioluminescent ((of living organisms) emitting light)
morphogenesis (differentiation and growth of the structure of an organism (or a part of an organism))
metabolic process; metabolism; metastasis (the organic processes (in a cell or organism) that are necessary for life)
stratum (one of several parallel layers of material arranged one on top of another (such as a layer of tissue or cells in an organism or a layer of sedimentary rock))
organic chemistry (the chemistry of compounds containing carbon (originally defined as the chemistry of substances produced by living organisms but now extended to substances synthesized artificially))
parthenote (a cell resulting from parthenogenesis)
fertilized ovum; zygote (the cell resulting from the union of an ovum and a spermatozoon (including the organism that develops from that cell))
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "being"):
katharobe (an organism that lives in an oxygenated medium lacking organic matter)
atavist; throwback (an organism that has the characteristics of a more primitive type of that organism)
clon; clone (a group of genetically identical cells or organisms derived from a single cell or individual by some kind of asexual reproduction)
zooid (one of the distinct individuals forming a colonial animal such as a bryozoan or hydrozoan)
procaryote; prokaryote (a unicellular organism having cells lacking membrane-bound nuclei; bacteria are the prime example but also included are blue-green algae and actinomycetes and mycoplasma)
eucaryote; eukaryote (an organism with cells characteristic of all life forms except primitive microorganisms such as bacteria; i.e. an organism with 'good' or membrane-bound nuclei in its cells)
myrmecophile (an organism such as an insect that habitually shares the nest of a species of ant)
commensal (either of two different animal or plant species living in close association but not interdependent)
host (an animal or plant that nourishes and supports a parasite; it does not benefit and is often harmed by the association)
individual (a single organism)
mascot (a person or animal that is adopted by a team or other group as a symbolic figure)
mutant; mutation; sport; variation ((biology) an organism that has characteristics resulting from chromosomal alteration)
saprobe (an organism that lives in and derives its nourishment from organic matter in stagnant or foul water)
saprophyte; saprophytic organism (an organism that feeds on dead organic matter especially a fungus or bacterium)
relict (an organism or species surviving as a remnant of an otherwise extinct flora or fauna in an environment much changed from that in which it originated)
nonvascular organism (organisms without vascular tissue: e.g. algae, lichens, fungi, mosses)
utterer; vocaliser; vocalizer (an organism that can utter vocal sounds)
stander (an organism (person or animal) that stands)
sitter (an organism (person or animal) that sits)
postdiluvian (anything living after Noah's flood)
parasite (an animal or plant that lives in or on a host (another animal or plant); it obtains nourishment from the host without benefiting or killing the host)
nekton (the aggregate of actively swimming animals in a body of water ranging from microscopic organisms to whales)
plankton (the aggregate of small plant and animal organisms that float or drift in great numbers in fresh or salt water)
amphidiploid ((genetics) an organism or cell having a diploid set of chromosomes from each parent)
denizen (a plant or animal naturalized in a region)
carrier ((genetics) an organism that possesses a recessive gene whose effect is masked by a dominant allele; the associated trait is not apparent but can be passed on to offspring)
conspecific (an organism belonging to the same species as another organism)
flora; plant; plant life (a living organism lacking the power of locomotion)
animal; animate being; beast; brute; creature; fauna (a living organism characterized by voluntary movement)
individual; mortal; person; somebody; someone; soul (a human being)
heterotroph (an organism that depends on complex organic substances for nutrition)
benthos (organisms (plants and animals) that live at or near the bottom of a sea)
diploid ((genetics) an organism or cell having two sets of chromosomes or twice the haploid number)
haploid ((genetics) an organism or cell having only one complete set of chromosomes)
congenator; congener; congeneric; relative (an animal or plant that bears a relationship to another (as related by common descent or by membership in the same genus))
polymorph (an organism that can assume more than one adult form as in the castes of ants or termites)
cross; crossbreed; hybrid (an organism that is the offspring of genetically dissimilar parents or stock; especially offspring produced by breeding plants or animals of different varieties or breeds or species)
anaerobe (an organism (especially a bacterium) that does not require air or free oxygen to live)
aerobe (an organism (especially a bacterium) that requires air or free oxygen for life)
micro-organism; microorganism (any organism of microscopic size)
animalcule; animalculum (microscopic organism such as an amoeba or paramecium)
polyploid ((genetics) an organism or cell having more than twice the haploid number of chromosomes)
heteroploid ((genetics) an organism or cell having a chromosome number that is not an even multiple of the haploid chromosome number for that species)
