Standard Lemma guide

invertebrate

adj · noun · 6 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.

  • /ɪnˈvəːtɪbrət/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 N V ER1 T AH0 B R AH0 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: IH2 N V ER1 T AH0 B R EY2 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Without a backbone: without vertebrae.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: spineless

Antonyms: vertebrate, vertebrated

2

adj

Meaning 2

Cowardly, uncourageous; lacking character.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: spineless, backboneless, base, bitch-ass, boneless, caitiff, candy-assed, chicken, chicken-hearted, chicken-livered, chickenshit, courageless, cowardish, cowardly, cowardy, cowhearted, cowish, craven, cravenhearted, cringey, dastard, dastardly, dickless, dough-faced, fainthearted, fearful, fraidy, gizzardless, heartless, invalorous, invertebrate, gutless, hen-hearted, kiasi, lily-livered, liver-faced, liver-hearted, low-hearted, miching, milky, milk-livered, mouse-hearted, mousy, nerveless, niddering, nidering, niding, nithing, nutless, pigeon-livered, poltroonish, poor-spirited, punk, pusillanimous, pussylike, ratlike, rabbit-hearted, recrayed, retromingent, sissy, timid, timorous, unhearty, weak-kneed, white-hearted, white-livered, wimpish, yellow, yellow-bellied

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

An animal without vertebrae (i.e., without a backbone).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: vertebrate

Broader terms: animal, creature, critter

4

noun

Meaning 4

A spineless person; a coward.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: gutless wonder, bottler, caitiff, candy-ass, candy-arse, coistril, coward, chicken, chicken liver, chickenshit, cocktail, cowardy custard, craven, dog, fraidy cat, funker, invertebrate, jessie, lizard, milquetoast, nancy, niddering, nidering, nidget, niding, nithing, piece of crap, piece of shit, pisspants, poltroon, pullet, punk, pussy, pussyhole, quiche-eater, quakebreech, quakebuttock, recreant, scaredy cat, scaredy pants, shithouse, sissy, slag, sluggard, snool, sook, weak sister, wheyface, yellow belly, yellow back

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective

Meaning 5

lacking a backbone or spinal column

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • worms are an example of invertebrate animals

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: spineless

Antonyms: vertebrate

6

noun

Meaning 6

any animal lacking a backbone or notochord; the term is not used as a scientific classification

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: animal, animate being, beast, brute, creature, fauna

Narrower terms: arthropod, zoophyte, sponge, poriferan, parazoan, coelenterate, cnidarian, ctenophore, comb jelly, worm, woodborer, borer, rotifer, mollusk, mollusc, shellfish, phoronid, bryozoan, polyzoan, sea mat, sea moss, moss animal, ectoproct, entoproct, Symbion pandora, brachiopod, lamp shell, lampshell, peanut worm, sipunculid, echinoderm

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Italic *n̥- Latin in-bor. Middle English in- English in- English vertebrate English invertebrate From in- + vertebrate.

Across languages

Translations

98 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: անողնաշար (anoġnašar) — lacking backbone
  • Asturian: invertebráu — lacking backbone
  • Belarusian: бесхрыбе́тны (bjesxrybjétny) — lacking backbone
  • Belarusian: беспазвано́чны (bjespazvanóčny) — lacking backbone
  • Bulgarian: безгръбна́чен (bezgrǎbnáčen) — lacking backbone
  • Catalan: invertebrat — lacking backbone
  • Chinese Mandarin: 無脊椎的 /无脊椎的 (wú jǐzhuī de) — lacking backbone
  • Czech: bezpáteřný — lacking backbone
  • Czech: bezobratlý — lacking backbone
  • Dutch: ongewerveld — lacking backbone
  • Finnish: selkärangaton — lacking backbone
  • French: invertébré — lacking backbone
  • Galician: invertebrado — lacking backbone
  • German: wirbellos — lacking backbone
  • Hungarian: gerinctelen — lacking backbone
  • Indonesian: invertebrata — lacking backbone
  • Ingrian: selkäpiitöin — lacking backbone
  • Irish: inveirteabrach — lacking backbone
  • Italian: invertebrato — lacking backbone
  • Japanese: 無脊椎 (musekitsui) — lacking backbone
  • Korean: 무척추 (mucheokchu) — lacking backbone
  • Northern Kurdish: bêbirrbirredar — lacking backbone
  • Latin: invertebrātus — lacking backbone
  • Macedonian: безрбетен (bezrbeten) — lacking backbone
  • Malay: tidak bertulang belakang — lacking backbone
  • Malay: invertebrat — lacking backbone
  • Māori: tuaiwikore — lacking backbone
  • Navajo: bíígháán ádaadinígíí — lacking backbone
  • Norwegian Bokmål: virvelløs — lacking backbone
  • Occitan: invertebrat — lacking backbone
  • Polish: bezkręgowy — lacking backbone
  • Portuguese: invertebrado — lacking backbone
  • Romanian: nevertebrat — lacking backbone
  • Russian: беспозвоно́чный (bespozvonóčnyj) — lacking backbone
  • Russian: бесхребе́тный (besxrebétnyj) — lacking backbone
  • Spanish: invertebrado — lacking backbone
  • Swedish: ryggradslös — lacking backbone
  • Ukrainian: безхребе́тний (bezxrebétnyj) — lacking backbone
  • Vietnamese: không xương sống — lacking backbone
  • Afrikaans: invertebraat — animal without backbone
  • Albanian: invertebrore — animal without backbone
  • Arabic: لَا فَقَارِيّ (lā faqāriyy) — animal without backbone
  • Armenian: անողնաշար (anoġnašar) — animal without backbone
  • Azerbaijani: onurğasız — animal without backbone
  • Belarusian: беспазвано́чнае (bjespazvanóčnaje) — animal without backbone
  • Breton: divellkeineg — animal without backbone
  • Bulgarian: безгръбна́чно живо́тно (bezgrǎbnáčno živótno) — animal without backbone
  • Bulgarian: безгръбна́чно (bezgrǎbnáčno) — animal without backbone
  • Catalan: invertebrat — animal without backbone
  • Chinese Mandarin: 無脊椎動物 /无脊椎动物 (wújǐzhuī dòngwù) — animal without backbone
  • Czech: bezobratlý — animal without backbone
  • Dutch: ongewervelde — animal without backbone
  • Esperanto: malvertebrulo — animal without backbone
  • Esperanto: senvertebrulo — animal without backbone
  • Finnish: selkärangaton — animal without backbone
  • French: invertébré — animal without backbone
  • Galician: invertebrado — animal without backbone
  • Georgian: უხერხემლო (uxerxemlo) — animal without backbone
  • German: Invertebrat — animal without backbone
  • German: Wirbelloses — animal without backbone
  • Greek: ασπόνδυλο (aspóndylo) — animal without backbone
  • Hungarian: gerinctelen — animal without backbone
  • Icelandic: hryggleysingi — animal without backbone
  • Irish: inveirteabrach — animal without backbone
  • Italian: invertebrato — animal without backbone
  • Japanese: 無脊椎動物 (musekitsui dōbutsu) — animal without backbone
  • Kannada: ಅಕಶೇರುಕ (akaśēruka) — animal without backbone
  • Kazakh: омыртқасыз (omyrtqasyz) — animal without backbone
  • Khmer: សត្វឥតឆ្អឹងកង (sat ʼət chʼəng kɑɑng) — animal without backbone
  • Korean: 무척추동물 (mucheokchudongmul) — animal without backbone
  • Kyrgyz: омурткасыз (omurtkasız) — animal without backbone
  • Lao: ສັດບໍ່ມີກະດູກສັນຫລັງ (sat bǭ mī ka dūk san lang) — animal without backbone
  • Latin: invertebrātum — animal without backbone
  • Lithuanian: bestuburis — animal without backbone
  • Macedonian: безрбетник (bezrbetnik) — animal without backbone
  • Malay: haiwan invertebrat — animal without backbone
  • Malay: invertebrat — animal without backbone
  • Māori: hātaretare — animal without backbone
  • Navajo: chʼosh bíígháán ádaadinígíí — animal without backbone
  • Polish: bezkręgowiec — animal without backbone
  • Portuguese: invertebrado — animal without backbone
  • Romanian: nevertebrată — animal without backbone
  • Romanian: nevertebrat — animal without backbone
  • Russian: беспозвоно́чное (bespozvonóčnoje) — animal without backbone
  • Serbo-Croatian: beskičmenjak — animal without backbone
  • Serbo-Croatian: beskičmen — animal without backbone
  • Serbo-Croatian: beskralješnjak — animal without backbone
  • Slovak: bezstavovec — animal without backbone
  • Slovene: nevretenčar — animal without backbone
  • Spanish: invertebrado — animal without backbone
  • Swahili: wasouti — animal without backbone
  • Swedish: ryggradslöst djur — animal without backbone
  • Tajik: бемӯҳра (bemühra) — animal without backbone
  • Thai: สัตว์ไม่มีกระดูกสันหลัง (sàt-mâi-mii-grà-dùuk-sǎn-lǎng) — animal without backbone
  • Turkish: omurgasız — animal without backbone
  • Ukrainian: безхребе́тна твари́на (bezxrebétna tvarýna) — animal without backbone
  • Uzbek: umurtqasiz — animal without backbone
  • Vietnamese: động vật không xương sống — animal without backbone
Real reading context

invertebrate in complete knowledge articles