omnivorous
Americanadjective
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eating both animal and plant foods.
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eating all kinds of foods indiscriminately.
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taking in everything, as with the mind.
an omnivorous reader.
adjective
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eating food of both animal and vegetable origin, or any type of food indiscriminately
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taking in or assimilating everything, esp with the mind
Other Word Forms
- omnivorism noun
- omnivorously adverb
- omnivorousness noun
Etymology
Origin of omnivorous
First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin omnivorus “all-devouring”; equivalent to omni- + -vorous
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If the idea of attacking a giant leaf with a fork makes you feel like an omnivorous dinosaur waiting for extinction, consider changing the format.
From Salon
The show portrays an artist driven by an omnivorous restlessness, forever chasing and endeavoring to synthesize various artistic influences and mystical belief systems.
Our critic said, “the Chicago-born artist has an omnivorous intellect, one that he proudly displays in this presentation of nearly 90 works from his three-decade career.”
They took an omnivorous approach to recording, performing spoken-word jams and a radio play and covering Bruce Springsteen and Christmas standards.
From Los Angeles Times
These include improved markers of cardiovascular health when compared with omnivorous diets that include meat, fish, and other animal-derived foods.
From Science Daily
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
