larval

/'lɑ:vəl/
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larval

A caterpillar is a larval insect.

Definition
  1. Adjective:
    • Relating to or typical of a larva: Describing something that is of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a larva, which is the immature, often wormlike, form of an insect or other animal that undergoes metamorphosis.
    • Immature of its kind; especially being or characteristic of immature insects in the newly hatched wormlike feeding stage: Used to describe a very early, undeveloped, or rudimentary stage in the life cycle or development of an organism or concept.
Usage Examples
  • Adjective:
    • The larval eye of the insect is structurally different from the adult eye.
    • Scientists studied the larval forms of several amphibian species.
    • The project is still in a larval stage and requires much more development.
Advanced Usage
  • "larval stage": The period in an animal's life cycle when it exists as a larva.
    • The caterpillar is the larval stage of a butterfly.
  • In a figurative or conceptual sense: Describing something in its earliest, most basic form.
    • His ideas for the novel were still larval, just a few scattered notes.
Variants and Related Words
  • Larva (n): The immature, wingless, and often wormlike feeding form of an insect or other animal that hatches from an egg and must undergo metamorphosis to become an adult.
    • A tadpole is the larva of a frog.
  • Larvicide (n): A substance used to kill larvae.
    • The city used larvicide to control the mosquito population.
Synonyms
  • Immature: Not fully developed.
  • Embryonic: In a very early stage of development.
  • Rudimentary: Involving or limited to basic principles.
Antonyms
  • Adult: Fully grown and mature.
  • Mature: Fully developed physically or functionally.
larval

A caterpillar is a larval insect.

Adjective
  1. relating to or typical of a larva
    • the larval eye
  2. immature of its kind; especially being or characteristic of immature insects in the newly hatched wormlike feeding stage
    • larval societies
    • larval crayfishes
    • the larval stage