View synonyms for tentacle

tentacle

[ ten-tuh-kuhl ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Zoology. any of various slender, flexible processes or appendages in animals, especially invertebrates, that serve as organs of touch, prehension, etc.; feeler.
Botany. a sensitive filament or process, as one of the glandular hairs of the sundew.

tentacle

/ tɛnˈtækjʊlə; tɛnˈtækjʊˌlɔɪd; ˈtɛntəkəl /

any of various elongated flexible organs that occur near the mouth in many invertebrates and are used for feeding, grasping, etc
any of the hairs on the leaf of an insectivorous plant that are used to capture prey
something resembling a tentacle, esp in its ability to reach out or grasp

tentacle

/ tĕn′tə-kəl /

A narrow, flexible, unjointed part extending from the body of certain animals, such as an octopus, jellyfish, or sea anemone. Tentacles are used for feeling, grasping, or moving.

1755–65; < New Latin tentāculum, equivalent to Latin tentā ( re ) (variant of temptāre to feel, probe) + -culum -cule ²

C18: from New Latin tentāculum, from Latin tentāre, variant of temptāre to feel

Not too shabby for a creature less than a year old who had never set a tentacle on the pitch.

He allowed himself to be led to a window where the machine with waving tentacle pointed towards an object outside.

A tentacle whipped up and touched Flannery, who sat with his hands off the control box.

Slowly, inexorably, that mottled tentacle curled downward with its prey, and a portion of the under side of the rock became alive!

But on three sides there were white, opaque walls, so near that he could have touched them by stretching out a tentacle.

At Ebors entrance he raised a limp tentacle in weary greeting and said, Come in, my friend, come in.

April 23, 2024inveterate

[in-vet-er-it ]

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