noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/ˈkanɪbəlɪz(ə)m/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:K AE1 N AH0 B AH0 L IH2 Z AH0 M
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The act of eating another of one's own species.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
An act in which one thing consumes or takes over another of the same kind.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively, uncountable, usually
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
In speech, the occurrence of one word eliding part or all of the next word, because the syllables are the same.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
the practice of eating the flesh of your own kind
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: practice, pattern
Narrower terms: anthropophagy
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Cariban *kariponader. Spanish caribeder. Spanish caríbalder. Spanish caníbalbor. English cannibal Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English cannibalism From cannibal + -ism.
Across languages
Translations
62 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Armenian:
մարդակերություն
(mardakerutʻyun)
— act of eating another of one's own species
Asturian:
antropofaxa
— act of eating another of one's own species
Asturian:
canibalismu
— act of eating another of one's own species
Catalan:
antropofàgia
— act of eating another of one's own species
Catalan:
canibalisme
— act of eating another of one's own species
Chinese Mandarin:
同類相食 /同类相食
(tónglèi xiāngshí)
— act of eating another of one's own species
Chinese Mandarin:
食人
(shírén)
— act of eating another of one's own species
Czech:
kanibalismus
— act of eating another of one's own species
Danish:
kannibalisme
— act of eating another of one's own species
Dutch:
kannibalisme
— act of eating another of one's own species
Esperanto:
kanibalismo
— act of eating another of one's own species
Esperanto:
samspecimanĝado
— act of eating another of one's own species
Faroese:
mannaát
— act of eating another of one's own species
Finnish:
kannibalismi
— act of eating another of one's own species
French:
cannibalisme
— act of eating another of one's own species
Galician:
antropofaxia
— act of eating another of one's own species
Galician:
canibalismo
— act of eating another of one's own species
German:
Kannibalismus
— act of eating another of one's own species
Greek:
κανιβαλισμός
(kanivalismós)
— act of eating another of one's own species
Greek:
ανθρωποφαγία
(anthropofagía)
— act of eating another of one's own species
Ancient Greek:
ἀνθρωποφαγία
(anthrōpophagía)
— act of eating another of one's own species
Ancient Greek:
ἀλληλοφαγία
(allēlophagía)
— act of eating another of one's own species
Indonesian:
kanibalisme
— act of eating another of one's own species
Italian:
cannibalismo
— act of eating another of one's own species
Japanese:
カニバリズム
(kanibarizumu)
— act of eating another of one's own species
Japanese:
共食い
(tomogui)
— act of eating another of one's own species
Japanese:
人食い
(hitokui)
— act of eating another of one's own species
Kazakh:
адам жегіштік
(adam jegıştık)
— act of eating another of one's own species
Malay:
kanibalisme
— act of eating another of one's own species
Manx:
canniblaght
— act of eating another of one's own species
Norwegian Bokmål:
kannibalisme
— act of eating another of one's own species
Norwegian Nynorsk:
kannibalisme
— act of eating another of one's own species
Occitan:
antropofagia
— act of eating another of one's own species
Occitan:
canibalisme
— act of eating another of one's own species
Persian:
همنوعخواری
(hamnow'-xâri)
— act of eating another of one's own species
Persian:
آدمخواری
(âdam-xâri)
— act of eating another of one's own species
Polish:
antropofagia
— act of eating another of one's own species
Polish:
ludożerstwo
— act of eating another of one's own species
Polish:
kanibalizm
— act of eating another of one's own species
Portuguese:
antropofagia
— act of eating another of one's own species
Portuguese:
canibalismo
— act of eating another of one's own species
Romanian:
canibalism
— act of eating another of one's own species
Russian:
каннибали́зм
(kannibalízm)
— act of eating another of one's own species
Russian:
людое́дство
(ljudojédstvo)
— act of eating another of one's own species
Serbo-Croatian:
канибалѝзам
— act of eating another of one's own species
Serbo-Croatian:
људо̀жде̄рство
— act of eating another of one's own species
Serbo-Croatian:
kanibalìzam
— act of eating another of one's own species
Serbo-Croatian:
ljudòždērstvo
— act of eating another of one's own species
Slovak:
ľudožrútstvo
— act of eating another of one's own species
Slovak:
ľudojedstvo
— act of eating another of one's own species
Slovak:
kanibalizmus
— act of eating another of one's own species
Slovak:
antropofágia
— act of eating another of one's own species
Spanish:
antropofagia
— act of eating another of one's own species
Spanish:
canibalismo
— act of eating another of one's own species
Swedish:
kannibalism
— act of eating another of one's own species
Telugu:
స్వజాతి భక్షణ
(svajāti bhakṣaṇa)
— act of eating another of one's own species
Telugu:
నరమాంస భక్షణ
(naramāṁsa bhakṣaṇa)
— act of eating another of one's own species
Turkish:
yamyamlık
— act of eating another of one's own species
Ukrainian:
канібалі́зм
(kanibalízm)
— act of eating another of one's own species
Ukrainian:
людоже́рство
(ljudožérstvo)
— act of eating another of one's own species
Ukrainian:
людої́дство
(ljudojídstvo)
— act of eating another of one's own species
Vietnamese:
ăn thịt đồng loại
— act of eating another of one's own species
