Reptilian
adj, noun ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A reptilian animal: a reptile.
- 2 any cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Reptilia including tortoises, turtles, snakes, lizards, alligators, crocodiles, and extinct forms wordnet
- 3 A reptilian person, especially (ethnic slur) a Jew. figuratively
- 4 A reptilian alien, especially (ufology, often capitalized) of a shapeshifting race alleged to secretly control the world.
"More evolved than the Grays or Reptilians, the Humanoids seem to feel some sort of kinship with humans and are likely to be kind.[…] Some researchers believe the Grays are merely preparing the way for a full-scale invasion of Reptilian aliens."
- 1 Of or relating to the members of the class Reptilia (reptiles).
"The Mesozoic represents that time on Earth when life flourished, but when such life was primarily reptilian, before the Age of Mammals."
- 2 Reptilelike.
"It is filled with blazing fires and half-human, half-animal beasts, with spiked reptilian tails."
- 3 Unthinking, low, base, contemptible. figuratively
- 4 Cold-blooded, treacherous, unavoidably selfish and hostile. figuratively
- 1 of or relating to the class Reptilia wordnet
Example
More examples"His shoulders are rounded from much study, and his face protrudes forward, and is forever slowly oscillating from side to side in a curiously reptilian fashion."
Etymology
From reptile + -ian, replacing earlier reptilious and adjectival reptile.
Related phrases
More for "reptilian"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.