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   animal

   /ˈanɪml/

   noun

   • 1. a living organism that feeds on organic matter, typically having specialized sense organs and nervous system and able to respond rapidly to stimuli: "wild animals adapt badly to a caged life"
   • ▪ an animal as opposed to a human being: "are humans superior to animals, or just different?" Similar creaturebeastliving thingbeingbruteinformal:critterwildlifefauna
   • ▪ a mammal, as opposed to a bird, reptile, fish, or insect: "the snowfall seemed to have chased all birds, animals, and men indoors"
   • ▪ a person without human attributes or civilizing influences, especially someone who is very cruel, violent, or repulsive: "those men have to be animals—what they did to that boy was savage" Similar brutebeastmonstersavagedevildemonfiendvillainsadistbarbarianogreinformal:pigderogatory:bastarddogdirty doginformal, derogatory:swine
   • ▪ a particular type of person or thing: "I am a political animal"

   adjective

   • 1. relating to or characteristic of animals: "the evolution of animal life"
   • ▪ of animals as distinct from plants: "tissues of animal and vegetable protein" Similar zoologicalanimalisticrare:zoictheriomorphic
   • ▪ characteristic of the physical and instinctive needs of animals; of the flesh rather than the spirit or intellect: "a crude surrender to animal lust" Similar carnalfleshlybodilyphysicalsensualinstinctiveinstinctualbrutishunrefinedunculturedcoarsegrossinhumansubhumanrare:appetitiveOpposite spiritual
   • 2. relating to or denoting the pole or extremity of an embryo that contains the more active cytoplasm in the early stages of development.

   Word Origin Middle English: the noun from Latin animal, based on Latin animalis ‘having breath’ from anima ‘breath’; the adjective via Old French from Latin animalis.

   Scrabble Points: 8

   • A

     1

   • N

     1

   • I

     1

   • M

     3

   • A

     1

   • L

     1

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