altricial

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altricial

/ælˈtɹɪʃəl/

Rhymes with -ɪʃəl

Where it comes from

From New Latin Altrices (a former division of birds), plural of altrīx, the feminine of altor (“nourisher”), from alere (“to nourish”).

adjective more altricial · most altricial

Helpless at birth (of young animals); or having young which are helpless at birth. Altricial young are typical among carnivores, which might be expected to be hampered in their hunting behaviour if the pregnant mother has to carry its young for a long period.
Similar: altricious, nidicolous

Opposite: precocial

noun altricials

Such an animal.

Thesaurus

adjective

Opposite: precocial

Translations

Every language

adj having young which are helpless at birth

Português	altricial

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MLA

"altricial." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/altricial. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

altricial. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/altricial

Chicago

"altricial." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/altricial.

BibTeX

@misc{altricial_2026,
  title = {altricial},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/altricial},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}