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MEPHITIS
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
In some classifications: type genus of the subfamily Mephitinae
Synonyms:
genus Mephitis; Mephitis
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("Mephitis" is a kind of...):
mammal genus (a genus of mammals)
Meronyms (members of "Mephitis"):
Mephitis mephitis; striped skunk (most common and widespread North American skunk)
hooded skunk; Mephitis macroura (of Mexico and southernmost parts of southwestern United States)
Holonyms ("Mephitis" is a member of...):
family Mustelidae; Mustelidae (weasels; polecats; ferrets; minks; fishers; otters; badgers; skunks; wolverines; martens)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A distinctive odor that is offensively unpleasant
Synonyms:
fetor; foetor; malodor; malodour; mephitis; reek; stench; stink
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("mephitis" is a kind of...):
odor; odour; olfactory perception; olfactory sensation; smell (the sensation that results when olfactory receptors in the nose are stimulated by particular chemicals in gaseous form)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mephitis"):
niff; pong (an unpleasant smell)
Derivation:
mephitic (of noxious stench from atmospheric pollution)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A poisonous or foul smelling gas emitted from the earth
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("mephitis" is a kind of...):
gas (a fluid in the gaseous state having neither independent shape nor volume and being able to expand indefinitely)
Derivation:
mephitic (of noxious stench from atmospheric pollution)
