genet
noun
any small, Old World carnivore of the genus Genetta, especially G. genetta, having spotted sides and a ringed tail.
genet
1 American
[jen-it, juh-net]
/ ˈdʒɛn ɪt, dʒəˈnɛt /
Or
genette
noun
-
any small, Old World carnivore of the genus Genetta, especially G. genetta, having spotted sides and a ringed tail.
-
the fur of such an animal.
genet
2
American
[jen-it]
/ ˈdʒɛn ɪt /
noun
Genet
3
American
[zhuh-ney, zhuh-ne]
/ ʒəˈneɪ, ʒəˈnɛ /
noun
Genêt
4
American
[zhuh-ney, zhuh-ne]
/ ʒəˈneɪ, ʒəˈnɛ /
noun
-
Edmond Charles Edouard Citizen Genêt, 1763–1834, French minister to the U.S. in 1793.
-
pen name of Janet Flanner.
genet
1
British
/ ˈdʒɛnɪt, dʒɪˈnɛt /
noun
-
any agile catlike viverrine mammal of the genus Genetta, inhabiting wooded regions of Africa and S Europe, having an elongated head, thick spotted or blotched fur, and a very long tail
-
the fur of such an animal
Genet
2
British
/ ʒənɛ /
noun
genet
3
British
/ ˈdʒɛnɪt /
noun
Etymology
Origin of genet
1375–1425; late Middle English < Old French genette < Arabic jarnait
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Like the egret, the genet feeds on insects stirred up by the grazing ungulates.
From National Geographic ● Sep. 17, 2015
At around $5 per pound, the servaline genet, a type of small carnivore, was the most expensive species for sale at both urban and rural markets.
From New York Times ● Dec. 29, 2011
The lavender had not yet bloomed, but roses were in flower; yellow genet flamed above the low stone hotel walls.
From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2011
“Maybe. We just didn’t have permits to trap leopards. We did collect genet cats, and it wasn’t there.”
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
Later, when she listened to the hoot of an eagle owl, the hiss of a genet, and the hrrr-hrrr grunt of a foraging honey badger, she didn’t feel quite as confident.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
Mr. Currey asks an important question about Genet, but assays no answer: “Was it prison that enabled his writing, or was it the act of theft that he practiced so assiduously during all those years?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
Isaac Paulos lived with his parents, Genet Shawo and Paulos Tekle, and his three-year-old brother Luca on the 18th floor.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2024
Even if the situation has improved, the physical and mental scars are easy to see, said Michel Genet, director of Doctors of the World Belgium.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 5, 2023
Demented, exuberant and appropriately angry, Vélez Meléndez’s play borrows from European absurdist theater, like the plays of Jarry and Genet, as well as a tradition of Latin American surrealism.
From New York Times ● May 30, 2022
Thereupon the question arose, what shall be done with Genet? and upon this question the cabinet divided with more than usual acrimony.
From Thomas Jefferson by Merwin, Henry Childs
Glamorously writing under the byline Genêt, she filled her dispatches with more fizz than champagne.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 19, 2026
The infuriated president demanded Genêt’s recall, and the Genêt Affair convinced Federalists that French revolutionaries could never be trusted.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018
Genêt would not accept this decision and kept recruiting supporters, warmly courting the Democratic-Republican Societies, and hinting at Washington’s overthrow.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018
The Citizen Genêt affair, as it became known, spurred Great Britain to instruct its naval commanders in the West Indies to seize all ships trading with the French.
From Textbooks ● Dec. 30, 2014
The situation was made worse in April by the arrival of the French republic’s new minister, Edmond Charles Genêt.
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
