Nonvegetarians

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Individuals who consume meat and animal products in their diets; people who abstain from vegetarianism by including sources of protein like fish, poultry, and red meat; those who do not restrict themselves to plant-based foods in their nutrition choices
2. Persons who incorporate various forms of animal meat in their meals; individuals rejecting a vegetarian lifestyle by eating various species of animals such as cows, pigs, and chickens; consumers of dietary options that are not solely derived from vegetables
3. Members of a dietary group that allows for the consumption of flesh from animals; those who may enjoy both seafood and meat, contrasting with herbivorous eating habits; eaters who derive some or all nourishment from animal-based sources

Etymology: "Nonvegetarians" is the plural of "nonvegetarian," a noun built from the prefix "non-," meaning "not," attached to "vegetarian." The base word did the heavier lifting: "vegetarian" was coined in the 1840s in Britain, and the "non-" prefix simply marks the opposite category, so a nonvegetarian is anyone outside that group. The construction is plain and transparent. "Non-" is a productive English prefix, used freely with nouns and adjectives to mean "not" or "lacking," as in "nonsmoker" or "nonprofit." Because "vegetarian" already names a clear dietary identity, adding "non-" produced a term for everyone who does not share it, without needing a separate word for meat-eaters.

Synonyms: carnivores, meat-eaters

Antonyms: vegetarians