carnivorous

adjective

Definition of carnivorousnext
as in aggressive

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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 carnivorous Advertisement The manosphere is drenched in blood-red carnivorous encomiums. — Michael Kimmel, Time, 15 Aug. 2026 Rescuing the Venus fly trap The carnivorous Venus fly trap is native to the Carolinas, but its population is dwindling due to loss of habitat. — David Morgan, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026 Firefly larvae, on the other hand, are usually carnivorous and may feed on soft-bodied insects, slugs, snails, and worms. — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 July 2026 The bloody red shrimp are herbivores when young, feeding on phytoplankton, and then add carnivorous activity as adults, adding zooplankton to their diet. — Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 3 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for carnivorous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for carnivorous
  1. aggressive
  2. savage
  3. deadly
  4. violent
  5. ferocious
  6. predatory
  7. fierce
  8. rapacious
Adjective
  • While Chelsea tend to retreat after taking the lead, their opponents also become more aggressive in response, committing extra bodies forward and helping to create more open, end-to-end encounters.
    — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The acquisition comes after the distributor’s founder and then-CEO, Andrew Karpen, died from an aggressive form of brain cancer at the age of 59 in May 2025.
    — Brian Welk, IndieWire, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of aggressive
Adjective
  • Onscreen, this ethnic conflict allowed Ken-san and other kimonoed gangsters to be presented as pure, sincere, patriotic heroes fighting for traditional Japanese values against savage aliens as well as local, gun-toting yakuza.
    — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The Indian pilot who fought off a savage attack by his copilot and helped prevent an apparent hijack of a Flydubai plane heading to Israel with more than 170 people on board is being hailed as a hero.
    — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of savage
Adjective
  • Measles usually kills two or three people in every 1,000 cases, the WHO says, but the disease can be more deadly in poorer nations because of factors such as malnutrition.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The deadly fire erupted Saturday at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, where fierce winds fueled flames that spread beyond the installation and into surrounding rural areas.
    — Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of deadly
Adjective
  • That, in turn, reveals a family history of violent gravitational instability caused by events like giant collisions and planetary ejections.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The show, which can certainly be tense, spends more time on being funny than violent.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of violent
Adjective
  • After the initial blast, which spews out gamma rays, a storm of radiation pours into the surrounding galaxy, creating a ferocious afterglow that burns in every part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
    — Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The characters thrust and parry with ferocious wit in an upscale California desert setting that scenic designer Scott Pask generically satirizes as a category of social living.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of ferocious
Adjective
  • Gaps in oversight Weak oversight has allowed these predatory schemes to persist in California.
    — Ilan Shrira, The Conversation, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The governor’s framework rightfully makes stopping this kind of predatory chatbot behavior a priority.
    — Matt Post, Baltimore Sun, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of predatory
Adjective
  • His successor, Bennett, had been among its fiercest critics, raising the prospect that the arrangement might finally end.
    — Eric Cortellessa, Time, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The deadly fire erupted Saturday at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, where fierce winds fueled flames that spread beyond the installation and into surrounding rural areas.
    — Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of fierce
Adjective
  • The mythical image of the chivalrous mobster offered a way to ease the humiliating memory of losing the war and carried a nationalist charge, exploited in movies set amid black markets, rapacious Americans, and panpan girls.
    — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The absurdist look at greed and climate change, reality and the distorting power of media, feckless world leaders and rapacious billionaires, struggled to get off the ground.
    — Brent Lang, IndieWire, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of rapacious

Browse Nearby Words

carnivores
carnivorous
caroche
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Cite this Entry

“Carnivorous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/carnivorous. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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