nocturnal

«nocturnal» in Mova's school dictionary: active at night and sleep during the day — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

adjective (nocturnal; nocturnally adv.)

meaning for a pupil

1) (science) Nocturnal animals are active at night and sleep during the day. tree →

2) Happening at night: a nocturnal walk, nocturnal noises. tree →

sense in the lessons

In science lessons: nocturnal animals like owls, bats, hedgehogs, foxes, badgers and possums have special senses for the dark. Opposite: diurnal (active in the day). In stories: nocturnal adventures.

examples

• Owls are nocturnal birds. tree →
• Hedgehogs are nocturnal, so you see them at night. tree →
• Bats use sound to find food on their nocturnal flights. tree →
• Possums in Australia are nocturnal. tree →
• Our hamster is nocturnal and runs on its wheel all night. tree →
• We went on a nocturnal walk to see the stars. tree →
• Many desert animals are nocturnal to avoid the heat. tree →

note

Opposite: diurnal (active by day); crepuscular means active at dawn and dusk. From Latin «nox» (night). Trap: not all animals that come out at night are fully nocturnal.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «nocturnal» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.