Species Meaning
/ˈspiːʃiːz/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA type or kind. (Compare race.)
nounA type or kind. (Compare race.), A group of sexually reproducing organisms of which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction, usually having similar appearance.
Sentence Examples
Environmental changes gave rise to new species.
The lion and the tiger are two different species of cat.
A conservation area for endangered species
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
Due to reproductive isolation, this population is considered a new ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Scientists have identified another new ____ of frog living deep in the Amazon rainforest this year.
Word Origin & History
From Latin speciēs (“appearance; quality”), from speciō (“see”) + -iēs suffix signifying abstract noun. Doublet of spice.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"What is called spiritualism should, I think, be called a mental species of materialism."
— 1871, Richard Holt Hutton, Essays, Theological and Literary:
"He went on kissing her with unflagging industry, while she remained limply in his arms, in a species of satisfied trance."
— 1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, →OCLC, page 122:
"Louise felt raised above her species; a voice had spoken within her inmost soul, whose revealings were vouchsafed but to the chosen few; and what had been indifference, was now disdain."
— 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter IX, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 103:
"We may see many such [dust] storms in the decades ahead, along with species extinctions, radical disturbance of ecosystems, and intensified social conflict over land and water."
— 2012 January 26, Donald Worster, “A Drier and Hotter Future”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, page 70:
"Westerlund News Reporter Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani reached out recently to her viewers with a wartime plea for unity and cooperation among all galactic species.
UPDATED
Her sincerity touched extranet viewers and donations for war relief efforts are pouring in, both to the Alliance and its alien allies."
— 2012, BioWare, Mass Effect 3 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: War Assets: Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Due to reproductive isolation, this population is considered a new ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Scientists have identified another new ____ of frog living deep in the Amazon rainforest this year.