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parasite

/ˈpæɹəˌsaɪt/noun3 syllables

Parasite means: a follower who hangs around a host (without benefit to the host) in hope of gain or advantage.

Synonyms for parasite3

noun, as in a follower who hangs around a host (without benefit to the host) in hope of gain or advantage

leech, sponge, sponger

Opposites of parasite

What does parasite mean?2

noun

1

a follower who hangs around a host (without benefit to the host) in hope of gain or advantage

2

an animal or plant that lives in or on a host (another animal or plant); it obtains nourishment from the host without benefiting or killing the host

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Parasite in a sentence

  • Hookworm is a worm, a parasite of man, that sticks to the small intestine.LB
  • It was very difficult to determine what type of parasite that was.Amastan
  • Our genetic material is being constantly invaded by small egocentric molecular parasites.marcelostockle
  • The rich make money magically and are therefore worthless parasites.Eccles17
  • Benedito made sure the kids were free from parasites and treated them if necessary.Amastan
  • Plants in the quassia family contain substances used in traditional medicine against parasites.rul
  • Woe to the braggart parasite. The crushing stone is falling overhead.Eccles17
  • The parasite started eating Stefan from the inside.Amastan

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of parasite

as a noun

plural
parasites