Meanings
nounheterometabolism (uncountable)
- uncountablebiologyThe form of insect development in which the nymph is very similar to the adult and matures without becoming a pupa
Synonyms & antonyms
noundevelopment of insects with incomplete metamorphosis in which no pupal stage precedes maturity
Similar
heterometaboly
Broader
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*sem-
- Proto-Indo-European*sḿ̥teros
- Proto-Hellenic*hə́teros
- Ancient Greekἕτερος (héteros)
- Englishhetero-
- Proto-Indo-European*me
- Proto-Indo-European*meth₂?
- Ancient Greekμετᾰ́ (metắ)
- Ancient Greekμετα- (meta-)
- Proto-Indo-European*gʷelH-
- Proto-Hellenic*gʷəlnō
- Ancient Greekβάλλω (bállō)
- Ancient Greekμεταβάλλω (metabállō)
- Ancient Greekμετᾰβολή (metăbolḗ)
- Englishmetabolism
- Englishheterometabolism
From hetero- + metabolism.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
heterometabolism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heterometabolism
MLA
“heterometabolism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heterometabolism. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “heterometabolism,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heterometabolism.
Source: heterometabolism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.