reptilious C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /rɛpˈtɪliəs/ UK /rɛpˈtɪliəs/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj of or resembling a reptile; coldly cunning or contemptible The villain's reptilious smile hinted at his treacherous intentions. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · of or resembling a reptile;... reptilianserpentineslycunningtreacherous Word family Related forms reptilereptilian Etymology AI details From reptile + -ious; reptile from Late Latin reptile ('creeping thing'), from repere ('to creep, crawl'). reptile Latin repere Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # reptilious **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /rɛpˈtɪliəs/ **IPA (UK):** /rɛpˈtɪliəs/ ## Meanings 1. of or resembling a reptile; coldly cunning or contemptible ## Examples - The villain's reptilious smile hinted at his treacherous intentions. ## Synonyms - reptilian - serpentine - sly - cunning - treacherous ## Related Forms - reptile - reptilian ## Roots and Affixes - Root: reptile - Root: repere ## Etymology From reptile + -ious; reptile from Late Latin reptile ('creeping thing'), from repere ('to creep, crawl'). ## AI Etymology Reptilious comes from reptile + -ious; reptile from Late Latin reptile ('creeping thing'), from repere ('to creep, crawl'). The historical chain includes Latin reptile and Latin repere. Older glosses in the chain include "creeping thing" and "to creep, crawl", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, reptilious is best read as compound, suffixal formation, and borrowing, yielding an English adjective shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as an adjective, with the sense "of or resembling a reptile; coldly cunning or contemptible". related forms include reptile and reptilian. The result is an English adjective whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning. ## Topics - Describing Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown