as in dependent
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Recent Examples of precocial
Hares are also born fully furred and with their eyes open, a trait called precocial, whereas rabbits are born hairless, blind, and vulnerable, needing more parental care in the early stages of life.
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Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 25 May 2025
Ducks are what scientists call precocial birds — capable of feeding, swimming and walking soon after hatching.
—New York Times, 22 June 2022
Godwits and most other ground nesters, on the other hand, are precocial birds.
—Jim Robbins, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Jan. 2022
Game birds, precocial, have larger clutches because the young, feathered and out of the nest upon hatching, are more subject to predation.
—Jim Williams, Star Tribune, 29 June 2021
The opposite are precocial birds, birds that hatch with feathers and are mobile and ready to go shortly after emerging from the egg.
—Anna Thomas Bates, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 28 June 2017
Comparison with avian brain evolution suggests that placental brain size should be constrained due to placentals’ relative precociality, as has been hypothesized for precocial bird hatchlings.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 10 Sep. 2010
Recent Examples of Synonyms for precocial
Adjective
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Cleanup efforts — including efforts to reduce the amount of sewage, fertilizer and petroleum products being rinsed into the lagoon — are heavily dependent on cities and counties.—
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Today, every country’s economy is tied to others, but a small nation that’s as historically dependent on trade as Denmark seems particularly vulnerable to Trump’s caprices.—
Adjective
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Foxes, bobcats and coyotes can be infected with trichinosis, a parasitic infection.—
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Jarrard also mentions the Flood, a parasitic alien species introduced in Combat Evolved that have become recurring antagonists of the franchise.—
Adjective
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Since then, says Carroll, Hollywood and the field of physics have had a kind of symbiotic relationship around wormholes.—
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These organisms depend on symbiotic bacteria that convert toxic chemicals into energy that sustains life.—
Adjective
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Defendants contest only that CASA has not satisfied the first requirement for such associational standing.—
Cite this Entry
“Precocial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/precocial. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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