lachryphagous means that feeds on tears. It carries an Arena rating of 1395, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, lachryphagous ranks #707 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #2,040 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #2,055 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #2,912 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words.
Why “lachryphagous” is a great word
Feeding on tears, as of certain insects. From the Latin combining form *lachry-* (from *lacrima*, meaning "tear") and the Greek-derived combining form *-phagous* (from *phagein*, meaning "to eat"). Unlike "hematophagous," which describes a creature that drinks the salt-slick of blood, or "nectarivorous," for one that sips the open sweetness of flowers, "lachryphagous" maps a stranger, more intimate parasitism. It is the minute, delicate proboscis sipping from the corner of a sleeping eye, the ant’s cautious tread along a saline trail, the silent harvest of grief’s own chemistry—a reminder that even our most private salt can be a world’s sustenance.
Etymology
From lachry- + -phagous.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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