Meanings
plural invertebrates
- An animal without vertebrae (i.e., without a backbone).
Yet despite sounding inhospitable, grasslands such as this are home to a huge variety of smaller herbs and wildflowers, including some of the UK's rarest orchids and invertebrates, in addition to being home to butterfly species such as the Chalkhill Blue.
2024 March 20, Chris Howe, “High speed underneath the Chilterns...”, in RAIL, number 1005, page 33Antonyms: vertebrate
- informalA spineless person; a coward.
Synonyms: gutless wonder, bottler, caitiff, candy-ass, candy-arse, coistril, coward, chicken
- not comparableWithout a backbone: without vertebrae.
Tear it up, and put a fragment under the microscope, and, wonder of wonders! see the maze of geometric forms exhibited in the bones of the creature; for who can help regarding the spicules as bones, even though a sponge be invertebrate?
1860, Recreative Science, page 110Synonyms: spineless · Antonyms: vertebrate, vertebrated
- not comparableCowardly, uncourageous; lacking character.
This week Fifa’s morally invertebrate president, Gianni Infantino, gave a speech that attempted to paint his World Cup as a marker of a grand struggle between the bright new world and corrupt old Europe, with Infantino himself the Mandela at its centre.
2022 November 21, Barney Ronay, “Iran’s brave and powerful gesture is a small wonder from a World Cup of woe”, in The GuardianSynonyms: spineless, backboneless, base, soft, bitch-ass, boneless, caitiff, candy-assed
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn animal without vertebrae (i.e., without a backbone).
nounA spineless person; a coward.
adjectiveCowardly, uncourageous; lacking character.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*né
- Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
- Proto-Italic*n̥-
- Latinin-
- Middle Englishin-
- Englishin-
- Englishvertebrate
- Englishinvertebrate
From in- + vertebrate.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans invertebraat
- invertebraatanimal without backbone
Arabic لَا فَقَارِيّ
- لَا فَقَارِيّ (lā faqāriyy)animal without backbone
Bulgarian безгръбна́чно живо́тно, безгръбна́чно
- безгръбна́чно живо́тно (bezgrăbnáčno živótno)animal without backbone
- безгръбна́чно (bezgrăbnáčno)animal without backbone
- безгръбначен (bezgrăbnačen)lacking backbone
Catalan invertebrat, invertebrat
- invertebratanimal without backbone
- invertebratlacking backbone
Chinese Mandarin 無脊椎動物 /无脊椎动物, 無脊椎的 /无脊椎的
- 無脊椎動物 /无脊椎动物 (wújǐzhuī dòngwù)animal without backbone
- 無脊椎的 /无脊椎的 (wú jǐzhuī de)lacking backbone
Czech bezobratlý, bezpáteřný
- bezobratlýanimal without backbone
- bezpáteřnýlacking backbone
- bezobratlýlacking backbone
Dutch ongewervelde, ongewerveld
- ongewerveldeanimal without backbone
- ongewerveldlacking backbone
Esperanto malvertebrulo, senvertebrulo
- malvertebruloanimal without backbone
- senvertebruloanimal without backbone
Finnish selkärangaton, selkärangaton
- selkärangatonanimal without backbone
- selkärangatonlacking backbone
French invertébré, invertébré
- invertébréanimal without backbone
- invertébrélacking backbone
German Invertebrat, Wirbelloses
- Invertebratanimal without backbone
- Wirbellosesanimal without backbone
- wirbelloslacking backbone
Greek ασπόνδυλο
- ασπόνδυλο (aspóndylo)animal without backbone
Hungarian gerinctelen, gerinctelen
- gerinctelenanimal without backbone
- gerinctelenlacking backbone
Icelandic hryggleysingi
- hryggleysingianimal without backbone
Indonesian invertebrata
- invertebratalacking backbone
Irish inveirteabrach, inveirteabrach
- inveirteabrachanimal without backbone
- inveirteabrachlacking backbone
Italian invertebrato, invertebrato
- invertebratoanimal without backbone
- invertebratolacking backbone
Japanese 無脊椎動物, 無脊椎
- 無脊椎動物 (musekitsui dōbutsu)animal without backbone
- 無脊椎 (musekitsui)lacking backbone
Korean 무척추동물, 무척추
- 무척추동물 (mucheokchudongmul)animal without backbone
- 무척추 (mucheokchu)lacking backbone
Latin invertebrātum, invertebrātus
- invertebrātumanimal without backbone
- invertebrātuslacking backbone
Lithuanian bestuburis
- bestuburisanimal without backbone
Malay haiwan invertebrat, invertebrat
- haiwan invertebratanimal without backbone
- invertebratanimal without backbone
- tidak bertulang belakanglacking backbone
- invertebratlacking backbone
Māori hātaretare, tuaiwikore
- hātaretareanimal without backbone
- tuaiwikorelacking backbone
Norwegian Bokmål virvelløs
- virvelløslacking backbone
Polish bezkręgowiec, bezkręgowy
- bezkręgowiecanimal without backbone
- bezkręgowylacking backbone
Portuguese invertebrado, invertebrado
- invertebradoanimal without backbone
- invertebradolacking backbone
Romanian nevertebrată, nevertebrat
- nevertebratăanimal without backbone
- nevertebratanimal without backbone
- nevertebratlacking backbone
Russian беспозвоно́чное, беспозвоно́чный
- беспозвоно́чное (bespozvonóčnoje)animal without backbone
- беспозвоно́чный (bespozvonóčnyj)lacking backbone
- бесхребе́тный (besxrebétnyj)lacking backbone
Slovak bezstavovec
- bezstavovecanimal without backbone
Spanish invertebrado, invertebrado
- invertebradoanimal without backbone
- invertebradolacking backbone
Swahili wasouti
- wasoutianimal without backbone
Swedish ryggradslöst djur, ryggradslös
- ryggradslöst djuranimal without backbone
- ryggradslöslacking backbone
Thai สัตว์ไม่มีกระดูกสันหลัง
- สัตว์ไม่มีกระดูกสันหลัง (sàt-mâi-mii-grà-dùuk-sǎn-lǎng)animal without backbone
Turkish omurgasız
- omurgasızanimal without backbone
Ukrainian безхребе́тна твари́на, безхребе́тний
- безхребе́тна твари́на (bezxrebétna tvarýna)animal without backbone
- безхребе́тний (bezxrebétnyj)lacking backbone
Vietnamese động vật không xương sống, không xương sống
- động vật không xương sốnganimal without backbone
- không xương sốnglacking backbone
Cite this entry
invertebrate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/invertebrate
“invertebrate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/invertebrate. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “invertebrate,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/invertebrate.
Source: invertebrate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.