Sirenian

//saɪˈɹiːniən// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Any of a group of aquatic, herbivorous mammals of the order Sirenia, a manatee or a dugong.

    "The cetaceans (whales and dolphins) together with the sirenians (sea cows and manatees) are the sea mammals best-adapted to the seas of today, but it is the cetaceans that have most engaged the attention of mankind as both prey and fellow sentient being."

  2. 2
    any of two families of large herbivorous aquatic mammals with paddle-shaped tails and flipper-like forelimbs and no hind limbs wordnet

Example

More examples

"The cetaceans (whales and dolphins) together with the sirenians (sea cows and manatees) are the sea mammals best-adapted to the seas of today, but it is the cetaceans that have most engaged the attention of mankind as both prey and fellow sentient being."

Etymology

From the scientific name, translingual Sirenia.

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