Parasitism

//ˈpæɹəs(a)ɪˌtɪzm̩// noun

noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Interaction between two organisms, in which one organism (the parasite) benefits and the other (the host) is harmed. uncountable, usually
  2. 2
    the relation between two different kinds of organisms in which one receives benefits from the other by causing damage to it (usually not fatal damage) wordnet
  3. 3
    A similar interaction between people or things. figuratively, uncountable, usually

    "We accused her of parasitism in taking his hard-earned money for new dresses."

Synonyms

All synonyms
accompanimentaccordanceagreementallianceapple polishingapple-polishing

Example

More examples

"In all of human society, three factors come into play at every level: competitiveness, cooperation, and parasitism."

Etymology

From parasite + -ism. Cognate with French parasitisme and Portuguese and Spanish parasitismo.

Related phrases

brood parasitismself-parasitism

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.