Meaning & use
omnivorously
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Meaning
adverb
In a way that involves eating both plants and animals, or taking in many different things.
Grammar: Used literally for eating habits or figuratively for reading, learning, etc.
Patterns
- eat omnivorously
- feed omnivorously
- read omnivorously
Bears eat omnivorously, feeding on berries, fish, and small mammals.
She reads omnivorously, from poetry to science fiction.
The children ate omnivorously at the buffet, trying every dish.
Common combinations
- eat omnivorously
- Pigs eat omnivorously, consuming almost anything.
- read omnivorously
- He reads omnivorously, always with a book in hand.
- feed omnivorously
- The birds feed omnivorously on seeds and insects.
Synonyms and how they differ
- voraciously
- Emphasizes great eagerness or large amounts, not variety; omnivorously stresses variety.
- indiscriminately
- Means without careful choice; omnivorously just means taking in many kinds.
Opposites
Word family
- omnivorous adjective
- Eating both plants and animals; or having wide interests.
- omnivore noun
- An animal that eats both plants and animals.
Commonly confused: omnivorously or carnivorously? omnivorously or herbivorously?
omnivorously vs carnivorously
Carnivorously means eating only meat; omnivorously means eating both meat and plants.
omnivorously vs herbivorously
Herbivorously means eating only plants; omnivorously includes both.
Practice
Raccoons eat ______, dining on fruits, insects, and fish.
Choose one answer.
Omnivorously means eating both plants and animals, matching fruits and fish. Carnivorously would mean only meat, and herbivorously only plants.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “omnivorously”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.