flightless
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Adjective
[edit]flightless (not comparable)
- Unable to fly.
- (usually) Describing kinds of birds that normally cannot fly, such as the penguin, ostrich, and emu.
- Synonyms: nonflying, nonvolant
- Antonyms: flying, volant
- Coordinate terms: flighted, unflighted
- Near-synonyms: apterous, wingless
- The indigenous fauna of Australia and New Zealand featured an especially interesting array of flightless birds.
- 2010, Alexander Elder, Straying from the Flock: Travels in New Zealand:
- America has its bald eagle and New Zealand has its kiwi, a flightless brown bird.
- (uncommon) Describing an individual bird that normally would be able to fly but in this case cannot, such as an injured sparrow.
- The animal shelter has a flightless sparrow named Shiny, who seems to make up for his disability by being an avid runner.
- (uncommon, humorous) Suddenly deprived of a scheduled (airline) flight by its cancellation.
- Oh great, some wind is blowing in Chicago, so now I'm flightless in Seattle, because this airline can't cope!
- (usually) Describing kinds of birds that normally cannot fly, such as the penguin, ostrich, and emu.
Derived terms
[edit]Related terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]unable to fly
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