Parasitic
[pærə'sɪtɪk] or [,pærə'sɪtɪk]
Definition
(adj.) of plants or persons; having the nature or habits of a parasite or leech; living off another; 'a wealthy class parasitic upon the labor of the masses'; 'parasitic vines that strangle the trees'; 'bloodsucking blackmailer'; 'his indolent leechlike existence' .
(adj.) relating to or caused by parasites; 'parasitic infection' .
Edited by Josie--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Alt. of Parasitical
Inputed by Hannibal
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. Sycophantic, fawning, flattering, wheedling, servile, slavish, meanly submissive.
Editor: Miriam
Examples
- That the small size of the egg is a real case of adaptation we may infer from the fact of the mon-parasitic American cuckoo laying full-sized eggs. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- But if the conferva or parasitic fungus exceeds its allies in the above respects, it will then be dominant within its own class. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- Leucodore, clione and other borers, parasitic or domiciliary worms work into the shell, and instinctively the protecting nacreous fluid envelops the intruder. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Those creatures are parasitic. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Many bees are parasitic, and regularly lay their eggs in the nests of other kinds of bees. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- In some cases, however, the mature animal must be considered as lower in the scale than the larva, as with certain parasitic crustaceans. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- He shows that there are parasitic mites (Acaridae), belonging to distinct sub-families and families, which are furnished with hair-claspers. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- The increase of these flies, numerous as they are, must be habitually checked by some means, probably by other parasitic insects. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
Editor: Miriam