cannibal

[ kan-uh-buhl ]

noun

1. a person who eats human flesh, especially for magical or religious purposes, as among certain tribal peoples.
2. any animal that eats its own kind.

adjective

1. pertaining to or characteristic of a cannibal.
2. given to cannibalism.

cannibal

/ ˈkænɪbəl /

noun

1. 1. a person who eats the flesh of other human beings
   2. ( as modifier )

      cannibal tribes

2. an animal that feeds on the flesh of others of its kind

Other Words From

• canni·bal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of cannibal¹

First recorded in 1545–55; from Spanish caníbal, variant of caríbal, from canib-, caribe (from Taíno; Carib ( def ) ) + -al -al ¹; from the belief that the Caribs of the West Indies ate human flesh

Word History and Origins

Origin of cannibal¹

C16: from Spanish Canibales, name used by Columbus to designate the Caribs of Cuba and Haiti, from Arawak caniba, variant of Carib

Example Sentences

Writers frequently drew bones, lip plates and fangs over Davis’s photo in newspaper clippings, associated her Afro with primitivism and accused her of being a cannibal.

From Washington Post

The windigo is this really terrifying cannibal spirit that as it gets bigger, it wants more, it wants more.

From Washington Post

To me it is a ridiculous euphemism, the way you might refer to cannibals as “practitioners of nontraditional culinary adventuresomeness.”

From Washington Post

Imagine if, for example after the world ends, it’s a zombie apocalypse in one area, Mad Max bikers in another region, cannibal cult in another, and so on.

From Popular-Science

Amirpour's next project is one she bills as a “Texas cannibal love story.”

From The Daily Beast

Fellow cops at the 26th Precinct in upper Manhattan wondered if they really had been working with a cannibal.

From The Daily Beast

The headline: "Three Englishmen Saved From Boiling Pot By Cannibal Chief, Who Was Friend at Oxford."

From The Daily Beast

And cruder devices certainly deepen the effect of a name; Caliban is a rough anagram of “cannibal,” and Cassio contains an “ass.”

From The Daily Beast

The Cannibal Cop may end up being saved by his own sick and shameful words.

From The Daily Beast

They admit that a Feejee cannibal has just the same "mighty and transcendent soul" that they themselves have.

From Project Gutenberg

I knew that an Irishman could become anything from a poet to a policeman, but I never heard of one becoming a cannibal before.

From Project Gutenberg

The Prince of Taranto, while speaking and acting like a cannibal, was following the inspiration of an atrocious policy.

From Project Gutenberg

The dark type, which is black, is of a very low order, and in some of the islands still retains its cannibal habits.

From Project Gutenberg

She roasted some meat, a cannibal smelt it, and went to the cave, but found the door fastened.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• anthropophaginian
• anthropophagite
• anthropophagus
• man-eater
• people-eater