as in leech
a person who is supported by or seeks support from another without making an adequate return a parasite who lived in the family's basement and refused to get a job or pay rent

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun parasite differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of parasite are leech, sponge, sycophant, and toady. While all these words mean "a usually obsequious flatterer or self-seeker," parasite applies to one who clings to a person of wealth, power, or influence or is useless to society.

a jet-setter with an entourage of parasites

When is it sensible to use leech instead of parasite?

While the synonyms leech and parasite are close in meaning, leech stresses persistence in clinging to or bleeding another for one's own advantage.

a leech living off his family and friends

When is sponge a more appropriate choice than parasite?

The synonyms sponge and parasite are sometimes interchangeable, but sponge stresses the parasitic laziness, dependence, and opportunism of the cadger.

a shiftless sponge, always looking for a handout

When would sycophant be a good substitute for parasite?

The words sycophant and parasite are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, sycophant adds to this a strong suggestion of fawning, flattery, or adulation.

a powerful prince surrounded by sycophants

In what contexts can toady take the place of parasite?

The meanings of toady and parasite largely overlap; however, toady emphasizes the servility and snobbery of the self-seeker.

cultivated leaders of society and became their toady

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of parasite These real-world parasites have inspired everything from horror movies to the hit HBO series The Last of Us, which envisions a future where a mutated Cordyceps fungus jumps to humans. Scott Travers, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025 The agency reported that testing for parasites, bacteria, viruses and more than 250 chemicals, as well as checks for such issues as toxic red tide, turned up nothing definitive. Curt Anderson, Sun Sentinel, 5 Mar. 2025 In the case of the rattail, the parasites had apparently not crippled the fish, which quickly swam away while being studied, researchers noted. Mark Price, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2025 DeMille, a social media specialist with a background in marketing, has highlighted influencers using the Los Angeles wildfires to peddle detoxes, fear mongering about parasites, and making claims about supplements that sound different than the disclaimers on the product's websites. Jude Joffe-Block, NPR, 20 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for parasite
Recent Examples of Synonyms for parasite
Noun
  • Are you surrounded by individuals who drain your energy (i.e., leeches and loafers)?
    Glenn Llopis, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2025
  • The Moist mode removed air effectively without letting liquid leech too far toward the chamber.
    Adam Campbell-Schmitt, Bon Appétit, 27 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • Scrub with a soft sponge in circular motions, focusing on those stained areas.
    Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 21 Mar. 2025
  • But, somehow, life finds a way: The seafloor was crawling with critters of all shapes and sizes, from centuries-old sponges and cup corals to octopuses, snails, worms, sea spiders, icefish and even a rare giant phantom jellyfish.
    Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Married taxpayers who filed a joint return that claimed two qualifying dependents on the 2021 return could have qualified for up to $5,600.
    Susan Tompor, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2025
  • Meanwhile, dependents could also earn the full $1,400 no matter their age from 2021.
    Angel Saunders, People.com, 19 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Things take a turn when Smokey's drug supplier demands $200 by 10 PM or they'll be killed, but the pair is easily distracted by conflicts with the resident bully, Craig's jealous girlfriend, and various neighborhood moochers and petty criminals.
    Danny Horn, EW.com, 18 Aug. 2024
  • The hikes, which go into effect on September 1, are part of a larger effort to crack down on membership moochers and boost revenue for the warehouse chain.
    Alexandra Banner, CNN, 11 July 2024
Noun
  • Back in Montana, every trip Jacob and company take to Bozeman and back is inevitably fraught with peril — if not instigated by dastardly rich guy Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton) and/or his henchman Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn), then by the pitiless nature of extreme weather.
    Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2025
  • In Lynch’s festering neo-noir mystery from 1987, Hopper plays a chronic villain perpetually sipping from a tank of amyl nitrate and handing out hits as a way to manipulate his henchmen.
    Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 14 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • In a government that is already owned and operated by far-right cranks and hangers-on, Bongino can only do so much damage on his own.
    Ross Rosenfeld, Newsweek, 26 Feb. 2025
  • Hackett, his bungalow neighbor Faye Greener (Karen Black), her vaudevillian has-been father (Burgess Meredith), assorted whores, hangers-on, venal studio executives, and a WASPy lunk — auspiciously named Homer Simpson (Donald Sutherland) — suckered by Hollywood’s erotic promise.
    Armond White, National Review, 31 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • Klaus Kinski plays Count Dracula, Isabelle Adjani is Lucy Harker, and Bruno Ganz is Jonathan Harker in this unforgettable mood piece, a movie that’s so unsettling that one wonders if Kinski might actually be a bloodsucker.
    Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 8 Jan. 2025
  • Oh, and a trio of baddie bloodsuckers from another coven are also interested in taking a bite.
    Lincee Ray, EW.com, 22 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Parasite.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/parasite. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.

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