precocial

Definition of precocialnext

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of precocial The embryos could develop into precocial hatchlings — young that were born at an advanced stage and capable of independent survival without parental milk or feeding. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 9 Apr. 2026 Hares are also born fully furred and with their eyes open, a trait called precocial, whereas rabbits are born hairless, blind, and vulnerable, needing more parental care in the early stages of life. — Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 25 May 2025 Ducks are what scientists call precocial birds — capable of feeding, swimming and walking soon after hatching. — New York Times, 22 June 2022 Godwits and most other ground nesters, on the other hand, are precocial birds. — Jim Robbins, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Jan. 2022 Game birds, precocial, have larger clutches because the young, feathered and out of the nest upon hatching, are more subject to predation. — Jim Williams, Star Tribune, 29 June 2021 The opposite are precocial birds, birds that hatch with feathers and are mobile and ready to go shortly after emerging from the egg. — Anna Thomas Bates, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 28 June 2017 Comparison with avian brain evolution suggests that placental brain size should be constrained due to placentals’ relative precociality, as has been hypothesized for precocial bird hatchlings. — Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 10 Sep. 2010
Recent Examples of Synonyms for precocial
Adjective
  • The rural economy, largely dependent on farming, is also an important pillar of consumer spending.
    — Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026
  • To your earlier point, so much of modern stardom is dependent on a social following.
    — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • River blindness is caused by a parasitic worm that’s transmitted when people are bitten repeatedly by infected blackflies.
    — Joshua R. Ehrlich, The Conversation, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The doctors prescribed her an anti-parasitic drug, an anti-inflammatory drug, and an anti-seizure medication.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 22 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Since then, different techniques have been developed to recruit the symbiotic microbe.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Thus, the relationship between gossip columnists Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper (itself the subject of George Eells’s 1971 dual biography, Hedda and Louella) was at first a symbiotic friendship and then a brutal rivalry.
    — Lindsey Weber, Vanity Fair, 28 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Defendants contest only that CASA has not satisfied the first requirement for such associational standing.
    — New York Times, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Precocial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/precocial. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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