: an undomesticated organism and especially an animal (such as a mouse, pigeon, or raccoon) that lives in close association with people and benefits from their surroundings and activities
Such birds were synanthropes … that is, born wild but inherently predisposed toward associating themselves with humans.—
David Quammen, Wild Thoughts from Wild Places, 1998
synanthropic
adjective
This and other experiments have established a circumstantial case for the role of the synanthropic fly as a disease vector.
—James C. Riley, American Historical Review, October 1986
synanthropy
noun
The best explanation of this major development in crow synanthropy is that cities provide protection from being shot, safety from hawks and owls—their major predators—and greater ambient warmth.
—Daniel W. Gade, Geographical Review, 1 Apr. 2010
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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