parasitic
parasitic Lexical Profile
parasitic Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Relating to, caused by, or characteristic of a biological organism that lives in or on a host and derives nutrients at the host's expense.
"Mistletoe is a hemiparasitic plant that extracts water and minerals from the branches of its host tree."
Habitually exploiting the hospitality, generosity, or labor of others without offering anything in return.
"She eventually ended the business partnership because her colleague's parasitic reliance on her work became unsustainable."
Relating to an unintended, undesirable electrical signal, capacitance, or mechanical drag that drains energy from a system.
"The engineers redesigned the circuit board to minimize parasitic capacitance at high frequencies."
• Rhymes for parasitic
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from the Ancient Greek 'parasitikos', from 'parasitos' (literally 'one who eats at the table of another'), combining 'para-' (beside) and 'sitos' (grain or food). In classical antiquity, the term originally referred to a social flatterer who earned meals through wit before adopting its biological meaning in the 17th century.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.