misbreed

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English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

mis- +‎ breed

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (verb) IPA(key): /mɪsˈbɹiːd/
  • (noun) IPA(key): /ˈmɪsbɹiːd/

Verb[edit]

misbreed (third-person singular simple present misbreeds, present participle misbreeding, simple past and past participle misbred)

  1. To breed with the wrong mate, resulting in inferior offspring.
    • 1994, Brian G. Domino, Social and Political Philosophy, page 29:
      Discord will occur even in Socrates ' city because the rulers, no matter how wise, will misbreed the guardians, producing inferior guardians, who bring discord with them.
    • 2005, Mark Bennett Feldman, Narrating, Displaying and Spectating the Animal, page 287:
      Humans breed in ways quite similar to those of animals; and if humans misbreed, the results are misbreeds.
    • 2014, David V. McCorkle, Why the Universe Bothers to Exist, page 21:
      So what keeps wolves and coyotes from interbreeding in nature? Obviously, those who don't misbreed will leave more viable offspring.

Noun[edit]

misbreed (plural misbreeds)

  1. The inferior offspring that results from misbreeding.
    • 2005, Mark Bennett Feldman, Narrating, Displaying and Spectating the Animal, page 287:
      Humans breed in ways quite similar to those of animals; and if humans misbreed, the results are misbreeds.
    • 2008, Don Rainwater, Kellie Rainwater, The Jack Russell Terrier Canine Companion Or Demon Dog, page 43:
      Some breeders will go as far as to say that if a Jack Russell is not used for field work than it's not a Jack Russell, but a misbreed that looks like a Jack Russell.
    • 2015, Kevin J. Anderson, Blood of the Cosmos:
      Beside her, a misbreed named Alaa'kh hunched forward, lifted a too-flexible arm, and tilted a bowl so that the runny gruel could pour down into a gaping mouth that had no chewing apparatus; the gruel simply trickled into his digestive system.

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