animalivorous

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌænɪˈmælɪvərəs/ UK /ˌanɪˈmalɪvərəs/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
feeding on animals; carnivorous

Most spiders are animalivorous, trapping insects in their webs.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · feeding on animals;... carnivorous predatoryflesh-eatingzoophagous

Opposites

herbivorous vegetarian frugivorous

Word family

Related forms animalivore carnivorous

Etymology

A modern formation from Latin animal ('animal') + -vorous, from vorare ('to devour'), via vorax ('greedy').

animal Middle English vorare Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# animalivorous

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ˌænɪˈmælɪvərəs
**IPA (UK):** ˌanɪˈmalɪvərəs

## Meanings
1. feeding on animals; carnivorous

## Examples
- Most spiders are animalivorous, trapping insects in their webs.

## Synonyms
- carnivorous
- predatory
- flesh-eating
- zoophagous

## Antonyms
- herbivorous
- vegetarian
- frugivorous

## Related Forms
- animalivore
- carnivorous

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: animal
- Root: vorare

## Etymology
A modern formation from Latin animal ('animal') + -vorous, from vorare ('to devour'), via vorax ('greedy').

## AI Etymology
animalivorous is a modern formation from Latin animal ('animal') + -vorous, from vorare ('to devour'), via vorax ('greedy'). Morphologically, the word is transparent: -vorous is attached to the older base named in the history, so the modern form packages an inherited or borrowed stem inside a later English derivative. In modern use, the adjective sense is "feeding on animals; carnivorous", which keeps the etymology connected to the word's present dictionary value rather than treating it as a merely historical label. The wider word family includes related English forms such as animalivore, carnivorous, showing how the same base continues to support neighboring English vocabulary. The principal historical forms in the chain include Latin animal, Latin vorare, which anchor the explanation in named linguistic material.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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animalivorous

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