cannibalism

American  

[kan-uh-buh-liz-uhm] / ˈkæn ə bəˌlɪz əm /

noun

1. the eating of human flesh by another human being.

2. the eating of the flesh of an animal by another animal of its own kind.

3. the ceremonial eating of human flesh or parts of the human body for magical or religious purposes, as to acquire the power or skill of a person recently killed.

4. the act of pecking flesh from a live fowl by a member of the same flock.

5. the removal of parts, equipment, assets, or employees from one product, item, or business in order to use them in another.

6. the acquisition and absorption of smaller companies by a large corporation or conglomerate.

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cannibalism British  

/ ˈkænɪbəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. the act of eating human flesh or the flesh of one's own kind

2. savage and inhuman cruelty

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Other Word Forms

• cannibalistic adjective
• cannibalistically adverb
• noncannibalistic adjective
• noncannibalistically adverb

Etymology

Origin of cannibalism

First recorded in 1790–1800; cannibal + -ism

Example Sentences

"Is this cannibalism?" laughed YouTuber Annamarie Forcino in a review posted this week, titled "Fruit Love Island is pure AI slop".

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

In 1994 the Hollywood film “Rapa-Nui” rendered the mythical apocalypse into a technicolor epic of ecocide and cannibalism in which the Garden of Eden was destroyed.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

“Crispy Skin,” from the English experimental rock band Squid’s upcoming third album, “Cowards,” is at once bright and nightmarish — a driving, six-minute post-punk tune inspired by a dystopian novel about cannibalism.

From New York Times • Nov. 15, 2024

Up to almost half of black bears die within their first year of life, most often due to cannibalism, starvation or abandonment.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 21, 2024

The discovery of the New World had fatally undermined any claim that there are some things on which all human beings can agree—here were societies practising nudity and cannibalism.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton