Simian

adj, noun

adj, noun ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An ape or monkey, especially an anthropoid (infraorder Simiiformes).

    "The simians would require no special orientation courses to teach them the reasons for fighting, such as, “To make the world safe for Demagocracy,” or whatnot."

  2. 2
    an ape or monkey wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    Of or pertaining to apes and monkeys.
  2. 2
    Bearing resemblance to an ape or monkey; apelike or monkeylike.

    "In “Benguelê” (which refers to slaves’ nostalgic longing for Africa) he makes extensive use of crouching, stooped bodies in a simian, loping walk, arms hanging loosely and head down to suggest tribal dances, rituals, animals, a precivilization."

Adjective
  1. 1
    relating to or resembling an ape wordnet

Example

More examples

"In “Benguelê” (which refers to slaves’ nostalgic longing for Africa) he makes extensive use of crouching, stooped bodies in a simian, loping walk, arms hanging loosely and head down to suggest tribal dances, rituals, animals, a precivilization."

Etymology

From Latin sīmia (“ape, monkey”), from Ancient Greek σιμός (simós, “snub-nosed”).

Related phrases

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