WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
par•a•sit•ism
(par′ə sī tiz′əm, -si-),USA pronunciation n.
- Ecology[Biol.]a relation between organisms in which one lives as a parasite on another.
- a parasitic mode of life or existence.
- Pathologya diseased condition due to parasites.
- Government(in some totalitarian countries)
- unemployment or refusal to work.
- employment in work considered nonessential by the state.
- parasite + -ism 1605–15
'parasitism' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):