Word.ws English Dictionary

anuran

Syllables: an·ur·an/əˈnjʊəɹ(ə)n/US/əˈn(j)ʊɹən/

anuran noun: any amphibian of the order Anura: any frog (narrow sense) or toad.

anuran: any amphibian of the order Anura: any frog (narrow sense) or toad
Image: www.Pixel.la Free Stock Photos, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

anuran (plural anurans)

  1. Any amphibian of the order Anura: any frog (narrow sense) or toad.
    • The fact that the higher Batrachia go on metamorphosing until several of their structures are so perfect as to require but the gentlest modification to make them fit for the Mammal, does not require one to suppose that the Toad and the Frog lie in the direct route from the Ichthyic to the Mammalian...1871, William Kitchen Parker, “VIII. On the Structure and Development of the Skull of the Common Frog (Rana temporaria, L.). By William Kitchen Parker, F.R.S. Received October 10, 1870,—Read January...
    • Inactivity may dominate an anuran’s life. Spea hammondii in the deserts of southwestern North America spend >90% of their life inactive; they appear explosively and breed with the first heavy summer rains, then feed for 2–3 weeks before becoming inactive for another year.2001, George R. Zug, Laurie J. Vitt, Janalee P. Caldwell, “Thermoregulation, Performance, and Energetics”, in Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles, 2nd edition, San Diego...
    Synonyms:
    batrachian, frog

Adjective

anuran (not comparable)

  1. Of or relating to the order Anura.
    • As a further illustration, we may take the results of experiments in which a Urodele organiser (from Triton alpestris) is grafted into an Anuran embryo (Bufo vulgaris).1934, Julian S[orell] Huxley, G[avin] R[ylands] de Beer, “Organisers: Inducers of Differentiation”, in The Elements of Experimental Embryology, Cambridge: At the University Press, →OCLC, page 142
    • It is well known that an anuran tadpole or an insect larva will never turn into its adult form if the respective endogenous metamorphic hormones, thyroxine and ecdysone, were withdrawn or prevented from reaching the target tissues.1971, J. R. Tata, “Protein Synthesis during Amphibian Metamorphosis”, in A[ron] A[rthur] Moscona, Alberto Monroy, editors, Current Topics in Developmental Biology, volume 6, New York, N.Y.; London...
    Synonyms:
    batrachian

anuran meaning in Tamil

anuran in Tamil

அனுராவைச்சேர்ந்த

Synonyms of anuran

Forms of anuran

pluralanurans

Origin of anuran

From New Latin Anoura, Anura (“name of the order of amphibians”), or from French Anoures (“name of a family of amphibians”), from Ancient Greek ἀν- (an-, “lacking”)) + Ancient Greek οὐρά (ourá, “tail”) + -an.

Questions about anuran

What does anuran mean?
Anuran means any amphibian of the order Anura: any frog (narrow sense) or toad.
What is anuran in Tamil?
Anuran in Tamil is அனுராவைச்சேர்ந்த. See Anuran meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is anuran?
Anuran can be a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce anuran?
Anuran is pronounced /əˈnjʊəɹ(ə)n/ (UK).
What is the plural of anuran?
The plural of anuran is anurans.

Words near anuran in the dictionary

  1. anuptaphobia
  2. anuptaphobic
  3. Anuradhapura
  4. Anurag
  5. anural
  6. anuran
  7. anurans
  8. anuresis
  9. anuretic
  10. anuria
  11. anurias

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: anuran (page history and authors); anuran (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-anuran.wav.

Cite this entry: “anuran.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/anuran. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.