What does "carrion" mean?
Rotting flesh of a dead animal or person.
Carrion
/ˈkæ.ɹɪ.ən/ adj, name, noun
adj, name, noun ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Rotting flesh of a dead animal or person.
- Grammar: carrion is listed as adj, name, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: ashes, asleep, at rest, bilge.
- Useful contrasts: alive, alive body, fresh.
- Usage evidence: A dead deer being pecked by vultures, remains partly eaten by other animals, that sort of rotten meat is called 'carrion'.
How to use "carrion"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "carrion" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "carrion" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "carrion" as the right word for your sentence.
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Compare nearby meanings
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- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "carrion" is acting as adj, name, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "ashes" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "carrion", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Rotting flesh of a dead animal or person. uncountable, usually
"Vultures feed on carrion."
- 2 the dead and rotting body of an animal; unfit for human food wordnet
- 3 Corrupt or horrid matter. figuratively, uncountable, usually
"[T]here are melancholy sceptics with a taste for carrion who batten on the hideous facts in history,—persecutions, inquisitions, St. Bartholomew massacres, devilish lives, […]"
- 4 Filth, garbage. figuratively, obsolete, uncountable, usually
- 5 The flesh of a living human body; also (Christianity), sinful human nature. derogatory, figuratively, obsolete, uncountable, usually
"Shy[lock]. My ovvne fleſh and blood to rebell. / Salan[io]. Out vpon it old carrion, rebels it as theſe yeares."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 A dead body; a carcass, a corpse. countable, obsolete, uncountable, usually
"[T]hey looked like anatomies of death, they spake like ghosts crying out of their graves; they did eate the dead carrions, happy where they could finde them, yea, and one another soone after, insomuch as the very carcasses they spared not to scrape out of their graves; […]"
- 7 An animal which is in poor condition or worthless; also, an animal which is a pest or vermin. countable, figuratively, obsolete, uncountable, usually
"[L]ords will by their wils / Rather haue one wodcock, than a thouſand dawſe. / Wodcocks ar meate, daws ar carren, wey this clauſe. / In dede ſir (ſaid the daw) I muſt needes agree, / Lords loue to eate you, and not to eate mee."
- 8 A contemptible or worthless person. countable, derogatory, figuratively, obsolete, uncountable, usually
"And vvhat other Oath, / Then Honeſty to Honeſty ingag'd, / That this ſhall be, or vve vvill fall for it. / Svveare Prieſts and Covvards, and men Cautelous / Old feeble Carrions, and ſuch ſuffering Soules / That vvelcome vvrongs: […]"
Adjective
- 1 Pertaining to, or made up of, rotting flesh. derogatory
"Theſe glotõs daily kil thẽſelf their own handes, ⁊ no man findeth fault, but carieth his cariẽ corſe into yͤ quere, and wͭ much ſolẽne ſeruice, burieth yͤ body boldly at the hie alter, whẽ thei haue at their life (as thapoſtle ſaith) made theyr belly their god, ⁊ liked to know none other: […]"
- 2 Disgusting, horrid, rotten. figuratively
"[T]he baseness, the foul, the stinking, the carrion baseness, of the fellows that call themselves "country gentlemen," is, […] that, while they are thus bold with regard to the working and poor people, they never even whisper a word against pensioners, placemen, soldiers, parsons, fundholders, tax-gatherers, or tax-eaters! They say not a word against the prolific dead-weight, to whom they GIVE A PREMIUM FOR BREEDING, while they want to check the population of labourers!"
- 3 Of the living human body, the soul, etc.: fleshly, mortal, sinful. derogatory, figuratively
"Shees bitter to her country, heare me Paris, / For euery falſe drop in her bavvdy veines, / A Grecians life hath ſunke: for euery ſcruple / Of her contaminated carrion vvaight, / A Troyan hath beene ſlaine."
- 4 Very thin; emaciated, skeletonlike. obsolete
- 5 Of or pertaining to death. obsolete
"O hell! vvhat haue vve heere, a carrion death? / VVithin vvhoſe empty eye there is a vvritten ſcroule, / Ile reade the vvriting."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"A dead deer being pecked by vultures, remains partly eaten by other animals, that sort of rotten meat is called 'carrion'."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "carrion"?
Common synonyms include: ashes, asleep, at rest, bilge, bilgewater, body.
How do you use "carrion" in a sentence?
A dead deer being pecked by vultures, remains partly eaten by other animals, that sort of rotten meat is called 'carrion'.
How do you pronounce "carrion"?
Pronounced /ˈkæ.ɹɪ.ən/.
Etymology
The noun is derived from Middle English careine, caroigne (“dead body, corpse; animal carcass; reanimated corpse; gangrenous or rotting body or flesh; mortal nature; (derogatory) living body; (figurative) disgusting or worthless thing”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman careine, caroigne, charogne, and Old French charoigne, Northern Old French caˈronië, caroine, caroigne (modern French charogne), probably from Vulgar Latin *carōnia, from Latin caro (“flesh”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut off, sever; to divide, separate”)) + -ia (suffix forming nouns). Doublet of crone. The regular modern English form would be *carren, *carron /ˈkæɹən/ (this is found dialectally; see similar kyarn); the intervening /i/ is probably a hypercorrection based on the analogy of words like merlin/merlion. The adjective is derived from the noun.