lion
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
A big cat, Panthera leo, native to Africa, India and once much of Europe.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
lyuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈlaɪən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
in particular
A male lion, as opposed to a lioness, which is characterized by having a flowing shaggy mane and taking little part in hunting, which can be done cooperatively.
by extension
Any of various extant and extinct big cats, especially the mountain lion.
A big cat, Panthera leo, native to Africa, India and formerly much of Europe.
A person who shows attributes associated with the lion, such as strength, courage, or ferocity.
A famous person regarded with interest and curiosity.
A Chinese foo dog.
adjective
Of the light brown color that resembles the fur of a lion.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (in particular) A male lion, as opposed to a lioness, which is characterized by having a flowing shaggy mane and taking little part in hunting, which can be done cooperatively.
Used this way, lion is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- panthera leo , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use lion
- “The majestic lion roared loudly at the zoo.”
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: male lion or as opposed to a lioness
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.