How do you use the word "animal" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "animal": Life in prison is worse than the life of an animal. A cow is a useful animal.

Animal Meaning

/ˈæn.ɪ.məl/

Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

nounAny member of the kingdom Animalia of multicellular organisms that are usually mobile, whose cells are not encased in a rigid cell wall (distinguishing them from plants and fungi) and which derive energy solely from the consumption of other organisms (further distinguishing them from plants).

nounA 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.

Sentence Examples

Life in prison is worse than the life of an animal.

A cow is a useful animal.

Each animal was tagged with a number for identification.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

physical beast creature

Antonyms:

mental

CEFR Practice Quiz

The zookeeper fed the hungry ____ some fresh vegetables.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

A tiger is a very large and powerful ____ that lives in the jungle.

Word Origin & History

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁mos Proto-Italic *anamos Latin animus Latin anima Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin animālis Latin animalder. Old French animalbor. Middle English animal English animal 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, Swedish djur etc. Displaced also rother (“horned animal, esp. ox”, now obsolete), from Middle English rother, reother (“a bovine”), from Old English hrīþer, hrȳþer.

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"It cannot be denied it [the chameleon] is (if not the moſt of any) a very abſtemious animall, and ſuch as by reaſon of its frigidity, paucity of bloud, and latitancy in the winter (about which time the obſervations are often made) will long ſubſist without a viſible ſuſtentation." — 1650, Thomas Browne, “Of the Cameleon”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC, 3rd book, page 133:

"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 turn grist into meal." — 2013 July-August, Henry Petroski, “Geothermal Energy”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4:

"Birds are as popular as animals in the toy kingdom, especially pigeons, owls and domestic hens." — 1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 54:

"“Long Story Short,” a new animated series from Raphael Bob-Waksberg with art by Lisa Hanawalt, trades the talking animals for kvetching humans." — 2025 August 21, Robert Ito, “The Makers of ‘BoJack Horseman’ Take Family Matters by the Reins”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 21 Aug 2025:

"Own me, I'll let you play the role I'll be your animal" — 2019, “Bad Guy”, Finneas O'Connell, Billie Eilish O'Connell (lyrics), performed by Billie Eilish:

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