animal
English · Español · Français · Deutsch · Português · Română · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
animal¹
- /ˈænɪməl/ UK
- /ˈanɪməl/ British, Northern England, Scotland
- /ˈænəməl/ Canada, US
- /ˈænɪməl/ Canada, US
- /ˈænəməl/ Australia, General South African
- /ˈɛnəməl/ New Zealand
- /ˈæːnɪməl/ India
- /ˈənɪməl/ India
- /ˈenɪməl/ India, dialectal
Rhymes with -ɪməl
Where it comes from
From Middle English animal, from Old French animal, from Latin animal, a nominal use of the adjective form animāle, neuter of animālis, from anima (“breath, spirit”).
Displaced native English deer (outside puristic usage) in the general animal sense, from Middle English der, deor (“animal”), from Old English dēor, related to German Tier (“animal”), Dutch dier, Danish dyr, Swedish djur etc. Displaced also rother (“horned animal, esp. ox”, now obsolete), from Middle English rother, reother (“a bovine”), from Old English hrīþer, hrȳþer.
noun animals
-
A multicellular organism of the kingdom Animalia that is usually mobile, with cells that are not encased in a rigid cell wall (distinguishing them from plants and fungi) and derives energy solely from the consumption of other organisms.
Near-synonym: critter
Similar: critter
-
Any member of the kingdom Animalia other than a human.
Similar: beast
- A higher animal; an animal related to humans. When he's hungry my toddler opens his mouth like an animal instead of asking us to feed him.
- A tetrapod; a land-dwelling nonhuman vertebrate. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to
- A warm-blooded animal; a mammal or bird.
- A non-human mammal. I spent my summer studying the animals and birds of the two islands.
- A person who behaves wildly; a bestial, brutal, brutish, cruel, or inhuman person. My students are animals.
-
A person who overeats or eats rapidly and noisily.
Similar: animal, belly-god, big back, buzgut, cormorant, dog, epicure, gannet, glutton, gorger, gourmand, gormandizer
- A person of a particular type specified by an adjective. He's a political animal.
- Matter, thing. a whole different animal
animal²
- /ˈænɪməl/ UK
- /ˈanɪməl/ British, Northern England, Scotland
- /ˈænəməl/ Canada, US
- /ˈænɪməl/ Canada, US
- /ˈænəməl/ Australia, General South African
- /ˈɛnəməl/ New Zealand
- /ˈæːnɪməl/ India
- /ˈənɪməl/ India
- /ˈenɪməl/ India, dialectal
Rhymes with -ɪməl
Where it comes from
From Middle English animal, from Latin animālis, from either anima (“breath, spirit”) or animus. Originally distinct from the noun, it became associated with attributive use of the noun and is now indistinguishable from it.
adjective
- Of or relating to animals. animal instincts
-
Raw, base, unhindered by social codes.
animal passions
Similar: animalistic, beastly, bestial, untamed, wild
- Pertaining to the spirit or soul; relating to sensation or innervation. To explain what activated the flesh, ‘animal spirits’ were posited, superfine fluids which shuttled between the mind and the vitals, conveying messages and motion.
- Excellent.
Animal³
proper noun
- A nickname given to people, especially wild people.
noun Animals
- A fan of Kesha, an American singer. For quotations using this term, see Citations:Animal.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: fauna, physical, creature, fishlike, beast, fleshly, carnal, sensual, brute, animate being, zoology, wildlife, zootechnical, zoological, secretion, secretory
Translations
Every language
noun organism
| Español | animal, bestia |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 동물 dongmul, 생물 saengmul |
| 日本語 | 動物 dōbutsu, 生き物 ikimono |
| 中文 | 動物 /动物 dòngwù |
| हिन्दी | पशु paśu, जानवर jānvar, हैवान haivān, जंतु jantu, जनावर janāvar, जिनावर jināvar |
| Kiswahili | mnyama |
| Português | animal, bicho |
| Français | animal, bête |
| Deutsch | Tier |
| Italiano | animale, bestia |
| Ελληνικά | ζώο zóo |
| Română | animal, fiară |
| Русский | живо́тное živótnoje, зверь zverʹ, тварь tvarʹ, скоти́на skotína, животи́на životína |
| Tiếng Việt | thú vật, động vật |
| العربية | حَيَوَان ḥayawān |
| עברית | בַּעַל חַיִּים báʻal ḥayyím, חַיָּה ḥayyá |
noun organism other than human
| Español | animal |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 동물 dongmul, 생물 saengmul |
| 日本語 | 動物 dōbutsu, 生物 seibutsu, 獣 kemono |
| 中文 | 動物 /动物 dòngwù |
| हिन्दी | हैवान haivān, जंतु jantu, जानवर jānvar |
| Kiswahili | mnyama |
| Português | animal, bicho |
| Français | bête, animal |
| Deutsch | Tier |
| Italiano | animale, bestia |
| Ελληνικά | ζώο zóo, κτήνος ktínos, θηρίο thirío |
| Română | animal, jivină |
| Русский | живо́тное živótnoje, зверь zverʹ, тварь tvarʹ, скоти́на skotína, животи́на životína |
| Tiếng Việt | thú vật, động vật |
| العربية | حَيَوَان ḥayawān |
| עברית | בַּעַל חַיִּים baʻál ḥayyím, חַיָּה ḥayyá |
noun person who behaves wildly
| Español | animal |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | けだもの kedamono |
| 中文 | 野獸 /野兽 yěshòu, 禽獸 /禽兽 qínshòu, 野兽 qínshòu |
| हिन्दी | हैवान haivān, जानवर jānvar |
| Kiswahili | nunda |
| Português | animal |
| Français | bête |
| Deutsch | Bestie, Unmensch, Monster, Scheusal |
| Italiano | animale, bestia |
| Ελληνικά | ζώο zóo, κτήνος ktínos, αγροίκος agroíkos |
| Română | fiară |
| Русский | живо́тное živótnoje, зверь zverʹ, скоти́на skotína |
| العربية | حَيَوَان ḥayawān, وَحْش waḥš |
| עברית | חַיָּה ḥayyá, בְּהֵמָה behemá |
adj of animals
| Español | animal |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 生き物の ikimono no |
| हिन्दी | हैवानी haivānī |
| Kiswahili | kinyama, mifugo |
| Português | animal |
| Français | animal |
| Deutsch | tierisch |
| Italiano | animale |
| Ελληνικά | ζωώδης zoódis |
| Română | animal, animalic |
| Русский | звери́ный zverínyj |
| עברית | חַיָּתִי ḥayyatí |
Talk about this word "animal." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/animal. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. animal. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/animal "animal." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/animal.Cite this
@misc{animal_2026,
title = {animal},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/animal},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
