Will global warming mean the spread of tropical parasitic diseases?
2. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
Parasitic animals and plants live on or inside larger animals or plants and get their food from them.
...tiny parasitic insects.
3. adjective
If you describe a person or organization as parasitic, you mean that they get money or other things from people without doing anythingin return.
[disapproval]
More Synonyms of parasitic
parasitic in American English
(ˌpærəˈsɪtɪk)
adjective
1.
of or like a parasite; living at the expense of others
2.
caused by parasites, as a disease
3.
of or designating a subsidiary volcano, crater, etc. that forms on the side of another one
Also ˌparaˈsitical
Derived forms
parasitically (ˌparaˈsitically)
adverb
Word origin
L parasiticus < Gr parasitikos
Examples of 'parasitic' in a sentence
parasitic
The kidneys were infected with a parasitic worm.
The Sun (2014)
Fruit flies down alcohol to kill parasitic wasps that grow inside them.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
They pass on a parasitic worm that grows and grows and then breeds other worms under the skin.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Disease is another problem, as are parasitic worms.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
This is a parasitic infection and already a nuisance on Mediterranean beaches.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Or you could catch a nasty parasitic infection - who can tell?
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Doctors successfully removed the parasitic twin 's four limbs.
The Sun (2010)
Over the past decade, leeches and parasitic worms have also crawled back into favour as a treatment.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Two men died after they were given kidneys infected with a parasitic worm during transplant operations, it emerged yesterday.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The strain of being host to a parasitic twin is killing him, but will he agree to the operation to remove it?
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
In this way RNA first appeared as a parasitic disease within the cell.
Dyson, Freeman Infinite in All Directions (1989)
TWO transplant patients died after receiving a man's kidneys infected with a rare parasitic worm found in horses.
The Sun (2014)
These, unlike other parasitic worms, do not cause disease or invade other body parts.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
She was joined to her parasitic twin, leaving her with four arms and four legs, below.
The Sun (2010)
There is medical evidence to suggest that he was suffering from a parasitic infection of the intestine, whose effects would include irritability and loss of concentration.
Glyn Williams VOYAGES OF DELUSION: The Search for the North West Passage in the Age of Reason (2002)
A couple of parasitic wasps seem to enjoy lily beetles - nasty habit - but there are not enough to keep them down.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
In other languages
parasitic
British English: parasitic ADJECTIVE
Parasitic diseases are caused by parasites.
...the spread of tropical parasitic diseases.
American English: parasitic
Brazilian Portuguese: parasítico
Chinese: 寄生生物引起的
European Spanish: parasitario
French: parasite
German: parasitisch
Italian: parassitario
Japanese: 寄生虫性の
Korean: 기생충에 의한
European Portuguese: parasítico
Latin American Spanish: parasitario
(adjective)
They are just parasitic spongers who have no intention of finding work.