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Beast Mode: An Ark of Animal Words: Cat Vocabulary: A Feline Lexicon

Whether you're a cat-person or have a case of feline phobia, here are 13 words to describe these lithe, stealthy creatures.
13 words 18910 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

  1. feline
    a mammal that belongs to the cat family
    That’s because the early-morning visitor was no domestic feline munching on some unlucky rodent.
    Los Angeles Times
  2. predator
    any animal that lives by preying on other animals
    It’s designed to warn birds that there’s a predator nearby.
    The New York Times
  3. carnivore
    any animal that feeds on flesh
    The danger of overidentifying with animals, particularly carnivores, is that it leads people to expect human behavior of them.
    The New Yorker
  4. lithe
    moving and bending with ease
    Hylla was in her twenties, lithe and lean as a tiger.
    The Son of Neptune
  5. retractable
    capable of being pulled back
    Cats have sharp, retractable (except in the cheetah) claws, and their teeth are adapted for stabbing, anchoring, and cutting.
    Britannica
  6. domesticated
    accustomed to home life
    In most cases, adoption is out of the question for feral cats because they are just too wild to be domesticated.
    The Washington Times
  7. lissome
    moving and bending with ease
    The lissome cheetah, meanwhile, is bullied and often killed by bigger carnivores such as lions.
    Slate
  8. supple
    moving and bending with ease
    It’s also the most formally inventive: part play, part dance, with supple, catlike movement illustrating recorded dialogue by the playwright Jonathon Young.
    The New York Times
  9. aloof
    distant, cold, or detached in manner
    Cats, depending on your point of view, are cute or aloof, predatory or lazy.
    The Washington Post
  10. pounce
    move down on as if in an attack
    As the lion pounced, it knocked over a platform that fell and blocked the gate to the cage.
    The Washington Times
  11. stalk
    a hunt for game carried on by following it stealthily
    I’m sure the kittens were pesky at times, but their mother knows the practice of stalking and pouncing is essential to their survival when they are pushed off on their own, sometime in the next year.
    US Forest Service
  12. agile
    moving quickly and lightly
    Faster and more agile than their bulk would indicate, they can run about 35 miles an hour.
    The New York Times
  13. stealthy
    marked by quiet and caution and secrecy
    While the domestic cat has adapted itself in extraordinary fashion to man's customs, it has not altogether lost its wild traits. Often sleek, sleepy, and well-behaved by day, the cat, by night, may become a stealthy and serious predator.
    Texas Parks and Wildlife
Created on Tue Mar 28 12:10:49 EDT 2017 (updated Fri Sep 29 13:54:24 EDT 2023)

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