vertebrate
3 synonyms and 1 antonym for vertebrate, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — An animal that has a backbone and belongs to the group Vertebrata.
Synonyms
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. noun
An animal that has a backbone and belongs to the group Vertebrata.
“A trout is a vertebrate, but a jellyfish is not.”
Opposites
2. adjective
Having a backbone, or relating to the animals that have one.
“Frogs are vertebrate animals.”
Opposites
How to use vertebrate
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
It is a scientific term, but it is also common in school lessons and everyday talk about animals.
Etymology
English took the word from French vertébré, which came from the Latin vertebratus, meaning jointed. The noun use developed from the adjective, through the name of the animal group, Vertebrata.
Full origin of vertebrate →