mandrill

M3A1N1D2R1I1L1L1
/ˈmæn.dɹɪl/

noun

A primate, Mandrillus sphinx, with a colorful face and rump.

Similar
Mandrillus sphinx
UncommonScrabble 11

Meanings

nounmandrill (plural mandrills)

plural mandrills

  1. A primate, Mandrillus sphinx, with a colorful face and rump.

    Mandrills occur in Gabon, Congo, Rio Muni and in Cameroon, to the south of the Sanaga River.

    2003, Alan Dixson, Nancy Harvey, Marilyn Patton, Joanna Setchell, “2: Behaviour and reproduction”, in William V. Holt, Amanda R. Pickard, John C. Rodger, David E. Wildt, editors, Reproductive Science and Integrated Conservation, Cambridge University Press, page 26
    2 more examples

    For the Mandrills live in society, and their bands are so powerful in point of numbers, and so crafty in point of management, that they are about as formidable neighbours as could be imagined.

    1865, John George Wood, The Illustrated Natural History: Mammalia, George Routledge and Sons, page 76

    In both mandrills and drills, males have long muzzles with pronounced maxillary ridges and long tooth rows. Like baboons, mandrills and drills have forelimbs and hindlimbs of nearly equal length.

    1999, John G. Fleagle, Primate Adaptation and Evolution, 2nd edition, Elsevier (Academic Press), page 200

Synonyms & antonyms

nounbaboon of west Africa with a bright red and blue muzzle and blue hindquarters

Similar
Mandrillus sphinx
Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From man + drill (“Mandrillus leucophaeus”). Displaced earlier English man-tiger. First attested in 1744.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans mandril
  • mandrilMandrillus sphinx
Bulgarian мандрил
  • мандрил (mandril)Mandrillus sphinx
Catalan mandril
  • mandrilMandrillus sphinx
Chinese Mandarin 山魈
  • 山魈 (shānxiāo)Mandrillus sphinx
Dutch mandril
  • mandrilMandrillus sphinx
Finnish mandrilli
  • mandrilliMandrillus sphinx
French mandrill
  • mandrillMandrillus sphinx
German Mandrill
  • MandrillMandrillus sphinx
Irish maindrill
  • maindrillMandrillus sphinx
Italian mandrillo
  • mandrilloMandrillus sphinx
Japanese マンドリル
  • マンドリル (mandoriru)Mandrillus sphinx
Korean 맨드릴
  • 맨드릴 (maendeuril)Mandrillus sphinx
Malay mandril
  • mandrilMandrillus sphinx
Polish mandryl
  • mandrylMandrillus sphinx
Portuguese mandril
  • mandrilMandrillus sphinx
Romanian mandril
  • mandrilMandrillus sphinx
Russian мандри́л
  • мандри́л (mandríl)Mandrillus sphinx
Spanish mandril
  • mandrilMandrillus sphinx
Vietnamese khỉ mặt chó
  • khỉ mặt chóMandrillus sphinx

Rhymes & wordplay

Sounds the same

Cite this entry
APA

mandrill. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mandrill

MLA

“mandrill.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mandrill. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mandrill,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mandrill.

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