noun
Meaning 1
A living being, such as an animal, monster, or alien.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- insects and other creatures
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
creature
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.
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Received-Pronunciation: /ˈkɹiː.tʃə/
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Received-Pronunciation: [ˈkhɹwɪi̯.tʃə]
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Canada, General-American: /ˈkɹi.tʃɚ/
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Canada, General-American: [ˈkhɹwɪi̯.tʃɚ] ~ [ˈkhɹwɪi̯.tʃɹ̩]
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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archaic: /kɹiːˈeɪ.tjʊə(ɹ)/
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rhymes with -iːtʃə(ɹ)
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CMU ARPABET: K R IY1 CH ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
An unidentified, mysterious, and often monstrous animal or being.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
A human.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: derogatory, sometimes
Examples
- He's a creature of habit.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
A created thing, whether animate or inanimate; a creation.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncommon
Topics: lifestyle, religion
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 5
A being subservient to or dependent upon another.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: puppet
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 6
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: animal, animate being, beast, brute, fauna
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: organism, being
Narrower terms: pest, critter, creepy-crawly, darter, peeper, homeotherm, homoiotherm, homotherm, poikilotherm, ectotherm, range animal, varmint, varment, scavenger, work animal, domestic animal, domesticated animal, feeder, migrator, molter, moulter, pet, stayer, stunt, marine animal, marine creature, sea animal, sea creature, female, male, adult, young, offspring, thoroughbred, purebred, pureblood, giant, survivor, mutant, herbivore, insectivore, acrodont, pleurodont, zooplankton, embryo, conceptus, fertilized egg, chordate, invertebrate, metazoan, omnivore, predator, predatory animal, prey, quarry, game, hexapod, biped, larva, racer, fictional animal, captive, mate
noun
Meaning 7
a human being; `wight' is an archaic term
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: wight
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: person, individual, someone, somebody, mortal, soul
noun
Meaning 8
a person who is controlled by others and is used to perform unpleasant or dishonest tasks for someone else
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: tool, puppet
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: slave
History
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English creature (“a created thing”), borrowed via Old French creature, from Late Latin creātūra, from creō. By surface analysis, create + -ure. Displaced native Old English ġesċeaft. Doublet of craythur and critter.
Across languages
Translations
158 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Albanian: gjalles — living being
- Albanian: gjallese — living being
- Arabic: مَخْلُوق (maḵlūq) — living being
- Arabic: كَائِن (kāʔin) — living being
- Arabic: كَائِن حَيّ (kāʔin ḥayy) — living being
- Aramaic: ܒܪܝܬܐ — living being
- Aramaic: ܚܝܘܬܐ — living being
- Aramaic: ܥܒܕܐ — living being
- Armenian: արարած (ararac) — living being
- Armenian: էակ (ēak) — living being
- Aromanian: hiintsã — living being
- Azerbaijani: məxluq — living being
- Belarusian: істо́та (istóta) — living being
- Belarusian: стварэ́нне (stvarénnje) — living being
- Belarusian: стварэ́ньне (stvarénʹnje) — living being
- Bengali: জানোয়ার (janōẇar) — living being
- Bengali: জীব (jib) — living being
- Bengali: প্রাণী (prani) — living being
- Bengali: মখলুক (mokholuk) — living being
- Breton: krouadur — living being
- Bulgarian: същество́ (sǎštestvó) — living being
- Bulgarian: създа́ние (sǎzdánie) — living being
- Bulgarian: твар (tvar) — living being
- Burmese: သတ္တဝါ (satta.wa) — living being
- Catalan: creatura — living being
- Cebuano: mananap — living being
- Chinese Cantonese: 生物 — living being
- Chinese Mandarin: 生物 (shēngwù) — living being
- Cornish: kreatur — living being
- Cornish: kroadur — living being
- Czech: tvor — living being
- Czech: stvoření — living being
- Danish: væsen — living being
- Dutch: schepsel — living being
- Dutch: creatuur — living being
- Dutch: wezen — living being
- Esperanto: estulo — living being
- Esperanto: estaĵo — living being
- Estonian: olend — living being
- Finnish: olio — living being
- Finnish: olento — living being
- Finnish: otus — living being
- French: créature — living being
- French: être — living being
- West-Frisian: skepsel — living being
- Galician: criatura — living being
- Georgian: არსება (arseba) — living being
- German: Wesen — living being
- German: Lebewesen — living being
- German: Fabelwesen — living being
- German: Geschöpf — living being
- German: Kreatur — living being
- Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐍃𐌺𐌰𐍆𐍄𐍃 (gaskafts) — living being
- Greek: πλάσμα (plásma) — living being
- Greek: δημιούργημα (dimioúrgima) — living being
- Hebrew: יְצוּר (yetsúr) — living being
- Hebrew: בִּרְיָה (biryá) — living being
- Hindi: जंतु (jantu) — living being
- Hindi: प्राणी (prāṇī) — living being
- Hindi: जानवर (jānvar) — living being
- Hindi: मख़्लूक़ (maxlūq) — living being
- Hindi: मखलूक (makhlūk) — living being
- Hungarian: teremtmény — living being
- Icelandic: skepna — living being
- Indonesian: makhluk — living being
- Irish: créatúr — living being
- Irish: dúil — living being
- Italian: creatura — living being
- Japanese: 生き物 (ikimono) — living being
- Japanese: 生物 (seibutsu) — living being
- Japanese: クリーチャー (kurīchā) — living being
- Kazakh: туынды (tuyndy) — living being
- Kazakh: жанды (jandy) — living being
- Kazakh: жаратылыс (jaratylys) — living being
- Kazakh: мақұлық (maqūlyq) — living being
- Khmer: សត្វ (sat) — living being
- Korean: 생물 (saengmul) — living being
- Korean: 크리처 (keuricheo) — living being
- Central Kurdish: زندەوەر (zindewer) — living being
- Northern Kurdish: mexlûq — living being
- Kyrgyz: жандык (jandık) — living being
- Kyrgyz: макулук (makuluk) — living being
- Lao: ສັດ (sat) — living being
- Latin: creātūra — living being
- Latvian: radījums — living being
- Lithuanian: padaras — living being
- Lithuanian: būtybė — living being
- Macedonian: суштество (suštestvo) — living being
- Macedonian: битие (bitie) — living being
- Malay: makhluk — living being
- Mongolian: амьтан (amʹtan) — living being
- Mongolian: бутээл (buteel) — living being
- Norwegian Bokmål: skapning — living being
- Norwegian Nynorsk: skapning — living being
- Old Occitan: creatura — living being
- Old English: ġesċeaft — living being
- Pali: satta — living being
- Pali: jantu — living being
- Pannonian Rusyn: створ (stvor) — living being
- Pashto: مخلوق (maxlúq) — living being
- Dari: مَوجُود (mawjūd) — living being
- Dari: مَخْلُوق (maxlūq) — living being
- Iranian Persian: مُوجود (mowjud) — living being
- Iranian Persian: مَخْلوق (maxluġ) — living being
- Polish: istota — living being
- Polish: stworzenie — living being
- Polish: stwór — living being
- Portuguese: criatura — living being
- Romanian: creatură — living being
- Romanian: ființă — living being
- Romanian: făptură — living being
- Russian: существо́ (suščestvó) — living being
- Russian: созда́ние (sozdánije) — living being
- Russian: творе́ние (tvorénije) — living being
- Russian: тварь (tvarʹ) — living being
- Sanskrit: सत्त्व (sattva) — living being
- Sanskrit: जन्तु (jantu) — living being
- Scots: craitur — living being
- Scottish Gaelic: creutair — living being
- Serbo-Croatian: би́ће — living being
- Serbo-Croatian: ство̏р — living being
- Serbo-Croatian: створе́ње — living being
- Serbo-Croatian: bíće — living being
- Serbo-Croatian: stvȍr — living being
- Serbo-Croatian: stvorénje — living being
- Slovak: tvor — living being
- Slovak: stvorenie — living being
- Slovene: stvor — living being
- Spanish: criatura — living being
- Spanish: críter — living being
- Spanish: creatura — living being
- Swahili: kiumbe — living being
- Swedish: varelse — living being
- Tagalog: nilalang — living being
- Tajik: мавҷуд (mavjud) — living being
- Tajik: махлуқ (maxluq) — living being
- Tatar: мәхлүк (mäxlük) — living being
- Thai: สัตว์ (sàt) — living being
- Tocharian B: onolme — living being
- Turkish: yaratık — living being
- Turkish: mahluk — living being
- Ottoman Turkish: مخلوق (mahluk) — living being
- Turkmen: mahluk — living being
- Ukrainian: істо́та (istóta) — living being
- Ukrainian: тварь (tvarʹ) — living being
- Ukrainian: твари́на (tvarýna) — living being
- Ukrainian: ство́ріння (stvórinnja) — living being
- Unami: kishelëmùksit — living being
- Urdu: مَخْلُوق (maxlūq) — living being
- Urdu: جانْوَر (jānvar) — living being
- Uyghur: مەخلۇق (mexluq) — living being
- Uzbek: mahluq — living being
- Vietnamese: sinh vật — living being
- Vietnamese: tạo vật — living being
- Volapük: jafäb — living being
- Welsh: creadur — living being
- Yiddish: באַשעפֿעניש (bashefenish) — living being
- Yiddish: בריאה (brie) — living being
Real reading context