Such an animal.
Used in a Sentence
altricial
Definitions, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for altricial.
Editorial note
It's the difference between a precocial and altricial species: A precocial species matures quickly because it has strong instincts.
Examples10
Definitions2
Parts of speech2
Quick take
Such an animal.
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of altricial gathered in one view.
(ornithology) Helpless at birth (of young animals); or having young which are helpless at birth.
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for altricial.
noun
Such an animal.
adjective
(ornithology) Helpless at birth (of young animals); or having young which are helpless at birth.
Example sentences
It's the difference between a precocial and altricial species: A precocial species matures quickly because it has strong instincts.
Humans are altricial, not precocial; that's not something that's changed in the last fifty thousand years, let alone last fifty.
Humans fit all but one: we are almost too altricial to be suitable for economic exploitation.
Additionally, altricial species tend to be much more intelligent so that's another factor to weigh in on which evolutionary strategy is optimal for a given species.
Except that there are plenty of other altricial animals.
An altricial species is born with less knowledge.
Deer are precocial, while humans are altricial.
> Additionally, altricial species tend to be much more intelligent so that's another factor to weigh in on which evolutionary strategy is optimal for a given species.
Quote examples
Seeing how homo sapiens is rather more altricial than precocial suggests to me that attempts to preserve "tradition" completely unchanged are almost...
But basically the analogy (originally built around TLB handling) is supposed to be: software slow & flexible conscious response hardware fast & inflexible reflex response We're altricial, not precocial, so over our lifetimes we can (and hopefully do) alter many of our own "reflex" behaviours.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use altricial in a sentence?
It's the difference between a precocial and altricial species: A precocial species matures quickly because it has strong instincts.
What does altricial mean?
Such an animal.
What part of speech is altricial?
altricial is commonly used as noun, adjective.