as in leeches
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
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Recent Examples of parasites
Read Next World Large parasites found protruding from fish’s head in South Atlantic.
—
Mark Price, Miami Herald, 12 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
Animal waste usually contains incredibly harmful bacteria or parasites that will stay present in the compost pile.
—Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 26 Feb. 2025
According to medical research, such infections tend to be caused by a combination of viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites.
—Juliana Kim, NPR, 17 Feb. 2025
How are these girls stranded in the wilderness not riddled with parasites by now?
—Samantha Allen, Them, 14 Feb. 2025
The parasites' arrival in the central nervous system is often marked by a headache.
—Ars Technica, 13 Feb. 2025
Ivermectin, a drug used to treat parasites in animals and humans, is a case in point.
—Guillaume Cabanac, The Conversation, 29 Jan. 2025
Mark Price, Miami Herald, 12 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
Animal waste usually contains incredibly harmful bacteria or parasites that will stay present in the compost pile.
—Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 26 Feb. 2025
According to medical research, such infections tend to be caused by a combination of viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites.
—Juliana Kim, NPR, 17 Feb. 2025
How are these girls stranded in the wilderness not riddled with parasites by now?
—Samantha Allen, Them, 14 Feb. 2025
The parasites' arrival in the central nervous system is often marked by a headache.
—Ars Technica, 13 Feb. 2025
Ivermectin, a drug used to treat parasites in animals and humans, is a case in point.
—Guillaume Cabanac, The Conversation, 29 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Parasites.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/parasites. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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