counterspecies

C3O1U1N1T1E1R1S1P3E1C3I1E1S1

noun

A species in opposition to another.

Scrabble 20

Meanings

nouncounterspecies (plural counterspecies)
  1. A species in opposition to another.

    Because in order to establish a new species properly, you have to make sure it comes equipped with counterspecies: predators, parasites, diseases, degraders.

    1993, C.S. Friedman, When True Night Falls, page 243
    2 more examples

    Incidentally, when bad came to very worse, all liberation movements seem to agree on one animal species that likes to wallow in mud as the appropriate counterspecies to liken the adult white male to.

    1974, Erik H. Erikson, Dimensions of a New Identity, page 116

    Humanity itself might be overrated, but what if you suspected that the bulk of your life's acquaintance - all those punctually plastered guests at your parents' cocktail hours, with their indisputable skill in running the world - fell into that inhuman counterspecies to which Dewey was accused of belonging?

    1997, Thomas Mallon, Dewey Defeats Truman, page 141

Origin

Cite this entry
APA

counterspecies. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/counterspecies

MLA

“counterspecies.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/counterspecies. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “counterspecies,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/counterspecies.

Source: counterspecies on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.