carnivorous

adjective

car·​niv·​o·​rous kär-ˈni-v(ə-)rəs 

1

: subsisting or feeding on animal tissues

2

of a plant : subsisting on nutrients obtained from the breakdown of animal protoplasm (as of insects)

3

: of or relating to the carnivores

4

: rapacious

carnivorously adverb

carnivorousness noun

carnivory

kär-ˈni-və-rē 

noun

Did you know?

The order of mammals that Linnaeus named the Carnivora includes such families as the dogs, the bears, the raccoons, the weasels, the hyenas, the cats, and the seals. Most carnivores eat only meat in the wild, but some have varied diets; some bears, for instance, normally eat far more vegetation than meat. Carnivores have powerful jaws and complex teeth, and most are highly intelligent. Humans, like their ape cousins, are basically omnivores.

Examples of carnivorous in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Megalosaurus was a theropod, a class of dinosaurs that were ancestrally carnivorous, bipedal and characterized by hollow, bird-like bones and three toes with claws. —Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 3 Jan. 2025

These dinosaurs are all classified as theropods, which were mostly carnivorous. —Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 1 Jan. 2025

Vegetarian women should aim for around 32 mg a day and vegetarian men should aim for around 14 mg—or nearly twice as much as their carnivorous counterparts. —Christina Pérez, Vogue, 23 Dec. 2024

Bats use echolocation to identify roosting sites, and their senses usually lead them to an unlikely choice—carnivorous pitcher plants. —Scott Travers, Forbes, 10 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin carnivorus, from carn-, caro + -vorus -vorous

First Known Use

1592, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

carnivorous

adjective

car·​niv·​o·​rous kär-ˈniv-(ə-)rəs 

1

a

: feeding on animal tissues

b

: trapping and digesting insects

carnivorous plants

2

: of or relating to the carnivores

Medical Definition

carnivorous

adjective

car·​niv·​o·​rous kär-ˈniv-(ə-)rəs 

1

: subsisting or feeding on animal tissues

2

: of or relating to the carnivores

carnivorously adverb

carnivorousness noun