Synonyms of parasite
17 similar words · 3 opposite words
Another word for parasite is bloodsucker. Other synonyms of parasite are bludger, freeloader, free rider, gadfly and leech. The opposite of parasite is commensal.
Synonyms and similar words for parasite
nounA person who lives on other people's efforts or expense and gives little or nothing back.
- bloodsucker
- bludger Australia, slangA person who avoids working, or doing their share of work, a loafer, a hanger-on, one who does not pull their weight.
- freeloaderOne who does not contribute or pay appropriately; one who gets a free ride, etc. without paying a fair share.
- free riderSomeone who obtains goods or services legally without paying.
- gadfly slangA person who takes without giving back; a bloodsucker.
- leechA person who derives advantage from others in a parasitic fashion.
- moochOne who mooches; a moocher.
- moocher
- scrounge
- scroungerOne who scrounges.
- scunge slangA scrounger; one who habitually borrows.
- spongeA person who takes advantage of the generosity of others (abstractly imagined to absorb or soak up the money or efforts...
- sponger
- suckerA parasite; a sponger.
- bummer US, datedAn idle, worthless fellow, without any visible means of support; a dissipated sponger.
- smell-feast archaicOne who is apt to find and frequent places where good food is available; especially one who comes uninvited to a meal...
- trencher mate archaicA sponger or parasite.
Opposite of parasite
Meaning of parasite
- noun An organism that lives on or in another organism of a different species, deriving benefit from living on or in that other organism, while not contributing towards that other organism sufficiently to cover the cost to that other organism.
- noun An internal parasite that is an animal or protist.
- noun A person who lives on other people's efforts or expense and gives little or nothing back.
parasite in other languages
Questions about synonyms of parasite
- What is another word for parasite?
- Parasite has 17 synonyms on Word.ws, such as bloodsucker, bludger, freeloader, free rider, gadfly, leech, mooch and moocher.
- What is the opposite of parasite?
- The opposite of parasite is commensal.
- What does parasite mean?
- Parasite means an organism that lives on or in another organism of a different species, deriving benefit from living on or in that other organism, while not contributing towards that other organism sufficiently to cover the cost to that other organism.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: parasite (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “Synonyms of parasite.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/parasite. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.