🇪🇸Spanish Source WordCode: ES

pupa

Pronunciation / Transliteration: pupa

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Pupa/ˈpjuː.pə/
nounCEFR B2 (Upper)Top #1500 frequency
Full Thesaurus
🇪🇸 Example Sentence in Spanish:

"La oruga se convierte en pupa."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    The inactive, immature form of an insect, such as a caterpillar, during the stage of development between larva and adult.

    "The caterpillar transformed into a pupa, encasing itself in a protective shell."
  2. 2

    A similar stage in the development of certain other organisms, such as some amphibians.

    "The tadpole eventually becomes a pupa before emerging as a frog."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

The word 'pupa' originates from Latin, meaning 'a doll' or 'figurine', which reflects its form during the metamorphosis stage of insects. The term has been used in entomology since the 18th century to describe the transitional life stage between larva and adult.

Quick Vocabulary Retention Check

Which of the following is the closest synonym for "Pupa"?

Thesaurus & Synonyms Graph

Explore Nuanced Synonyms for "Pupa"

Discover exact matches, context-specific alternatives, and antonyms with intensity ratings in the VocabDictionary Thesaurus.

View "Pupa" Synonym Map