animal
animal — noun
1. a living thing such as a dog, cow, lion, or rabbit — one that walks, breathes, a
a living thing such as a dog, cow, lion, or rabbit — one that walks, breathes, and feels, but is not classed with people, with birds, with fish, or with insects in everyday talk.
Vesna feeds the farm animals every morning before school.
common collocation: farm animals
The zoo in Taipei keeps more than two hundred animals from Africa and Asia.
Wild animals such as bears and wolves live in this forest.
Vets at the local clinic treat sick animals from nearby farms and homes every day.
The Watanabe family keep small animals like rabbits and hamsters in their garden shed.
文法句型
countable noun
用法筆記
In everyday speech, 'animal' usually excludes birds, fish, and insects, even though biology counts them as animals. Sense 2 covers the wider scientific meaning.
常見錯誤
2. in biology, any living being able to move by itself and respond to its surroundi
in biology, any living being able to move by itself and respond to its surroundings — humans, birds, fish, and insects all count — used to separate moving life from plants.
Biologists group living things into two main kingdoms: animals and plants.
scientific use: animals vs plants
Humans are social animals who need to live and work in groups.
common phrase: social animal
Insects are the largest group of animals on Earth, with millions of species.
Unlike plants, animals must eat leaves, fruit, or other creatures to get the energy they need.
Dr. Olu studies how warmer summers change the tiny animals living in mountain lakes near Sapporo.
- plant
the contrasting biological kingdom
文法句型
countable noun
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this scientific sense includes humans, birds, fish, and insects, while sense 1 excludes them. Context (a biology class, a textbook) signals which sense applies.
3. a strongly disapproving label for a person whose behaviour — often violent, brut
a strongly disapproving label for a person whose behaviour — often violent, brutal, or filthy — feels so far below normal human decency that you compare them to a wild beast.
The man who hurt those children is an animal and belongs in prison.
pattern: be + an animal (strong moral judgement)
After the fight, fans were calling the player an animal on social media.
Stop eating with your hands like an animal — use a fork and a spoon, please.
Camille drives like an animal — too fast, and far too close to other cars.
- gentleman
polite, well-behaved person — direct opposite in tone
文法句型
singular noun, often after 'an'
用法筆記
Highly informal and offensive when aimed at a real person. Often used in headlines and online comments about violent crime, or jokingly among friends about messy or rude behaviour.
常見錯誤
4. a colourful label, normally with an adjective in front, for a person, situation,
a colourful label, normally with an adjective in front, for a person, situation, or thing seen as a recognisable type — for example a 'party animal' (someone who loves wild socialising) or 'a different animal' (something that works on completely different rules).
Ines is a real party animal and stays out dancing until sunrise.
fixed phrase: party animal
Running a small dairy farm in Yilan is a very different animal from running a city office in Taipei.
pattern: a different animal from X
For Mei, performing live in a Broadway theatre and acting in a Netflix drama are two completely different animals.
My grandfather was a political animal who read the newspaper for hours each day.
文法句型
a + ADJECTIVE + animal
用法筆記
Almost always appears with an adjective ('political', 'party', 'different') or after 'a different'. Without such modification it slips back into senses 1 or 3.
常見錯誤
animal — adjective
1. produced by, taken from, or coming out of an animal's body — often used about fo
produced by, taken from, or coming out of an animal's body — often used about food, materials, or waste.
Mei avoids animal products like milk, cheese, and eggs.
very common collocation: animal products
The soap is made without animal fat, so vegans can use it.
collocation: animal fat
Farmers use animal waste to make the soil in their fields richer.
The coach told the young swimmers that their bodies need both animal and plant protein to stay strong.
- plant-based
made from plants instead of animals
- vegetable
from plants, especially in cooking contexts
文法句型
animal + NOUN
用法筆記
Almost always sits directly before a noun ('animal fat', 'animal protein'). It is rarely used after the verb 'be' — say 'this fat is from an animal', not 'this fat is animal'.
常見錯誤
2. describing things that resemble or represent animals — their shapes, sounds, mov
describing things that resemble or represent animals — their shapes, sounds, movements, or general world — rather than describing material that comes from inside an animal's body.
Schoolchildren at the natural history museum learned how ancient animal life slowly disappeared from the oceans.
collocation: animal life
The cave paintings show simple animal shapes drawn in red and black.
Camille dressed as a tiger and made loud animal noises at the party.
In the children's yoga class, Ms. Lee taught animal poses such as the cat, the cobra, and the dog.
文法句型
animal + NOUN
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is about resembling or relating to animals (animal noises, animal shapes), while sense 1 is about material that comes out of an animal's body (animal fat, animal milk).
3. having to do with the body's strong feelings such as hunger, fear, or sexual des
having to do with the body's strong feelings such as hunger, fear, or sexual desire, rather than thoughts, reason, or the spirit.
The novel describes the soldier's animal fear as bombs fell on the village.
collocation: animal fear
Two strangers met on the train and felt an immediate animal attraction.
collocation: animal attraction
After three days lost in the mountains, the rescued climbers tore into the rice with an animal hunger.
The boxer fought with animal energy in the final round of the match.
文法句型
animal + NOUN (often abstract)
用法筆記
Used before nouns of feeling or impulse (fear, hunger, desire, energy, attraction) and almost never after 'be'. Common in literary or formal writing; in casual speech, people say 'raw' or 'wild' instead.