free-living

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free-liv·ing

(frē′lĭv′ĭng)

adj.

1. Given to self-indulgence.

2. Biology

a. Living independently of another organism; not part of a parasitic or symbiotic relationship.

b. Moving independently; not sessile.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

free-living

adj

1. given to ready indulgence of the appetites

2. (Biology) (of animals and plants) not parasitic; existing independently

ˌfree-ˈliver n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

free′-liv′ing

adj.

1. following a way of life in which one freely indulges one's appetites and desires.

a. able to obtain nourishment independently of another organism; neither parasitic nor symbiotic.

b. capable of motility; not attached.

[1810–20]

free′ liv′er, n.

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Adj.

free-living - not parasitic on another organism

nonparasitic, nonsymbiotic

biological science, biology - the science that studies living organisms

independent - free from external control and constraint; "an independent mind"; "a series of independent judgments"; "fiercely independent individualism"

References in classic literature ?

Madame Reuter looked more like a joyous, free-living old Flemish fermiere, or even a maitresse d'auberge, than a staid, grave, rigid directrice de pensionnat.

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The point of this discovery was that it proved Haldin to have been familiar with that horse-owning peasant--a reckless, independent, free-living fellow not much liked by the other inhabitants of the house.

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Furthermore, studies of free-living finches find more severe clinical signs of mycoplasmal conjunctivitis in left versus right eyes, but the mechanisms underlying this side bias remain unknown.

Characterization of unilateral conjunctival inoculation with Mycoplasma gallisepticum in house finches

There was minimal hypoglycemia, 0.6% and 1.4%, respectively, over 54 hours of hybrid closed-loop control.1,2 Additional longer-term studies are underway to evaluate the Omnipod Horizon algorithm under free-living conditions in patients of all ages with type 1 diabetes.

Insulet presents 'positive' study result from Omnipod Horizon

Study was done to determine the role of flushing in removal of free-living protozoa, Legionella spp.

IS FLUSHING OF DENTAL WATER LINES EFFECTIVE IN REMOVING MICROBIAL CONTAMINANTS?

PAM is a rare, devastating infection of the brain caused by Naegleria fowleri, a free-living ameba found in warm, fresh water bodies throughout the world.

Primary amebic meningoencephalitis associated with hot spring exposure during international travel--Seminole County, Florida, July 2014

We compared the effects of exposure to saponins from the sea cucumber body wall and from the Cuvierian tubules on the behavior and gill ultrastructure of pearlfishes and free-living fishes.

Effects of holothuroid ichtyotoxic saponins on the gills of free-living fishes and symbiotic pearlfishes

He said that there will probably be no free-living rhinos as the remaining numbers will be fenced off in military-style compounds which are alarmed and heavily guarded by armed patrols.

`Rhinos to be extinct by 2020`

Free-living amebae of the genera Acanthamoeba, Balamuthia, Naegleria, and Sappinia are rare causes of infectious diseases in humans, with the exception of Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK), which is reported in more than one to two cases per 1 million contact lens wearers in the US annually.

Emerging trends in free-living amebic infections of the brain: implications for organ transplantation

Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis is caused by the small, pathogenic, free-living amoeba Naegleria Fowleri, Acanthamoeba species and Balamuthia mandrillaris.