What does arboreal mean?
Word: Arboreal
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Arboreal means living in trees, or connected with trees. Monkeys, sloths and many snakes are arboreal animals.
Synonyms: tree-dwelling
Antonyms: ground-dwelling
How do you spell arboreal?
Syllables: ar - bo - re - al
Tricky part: The ending is -eal, not -ial, even though many words that sound alike end in -ial.
Watch out for: arborial, arboriel, arbreal
Memory tip: Trees are real homes for arboreal animals, and the word ends with the same four letters as real.
Arboreal in a sentence
Example 1: The Malabar giant squirrel is arboreal and seldom comes down to the forest floor.
Example 2: Our guide pointed out an arboreal snake curled around a high branch.
Example 3: Koalas are arboreal and spend most of the day asleep in eucalyptus trees.
Fun Fact
Sloths are so arboreal that they usually climb down to the ground only about once a week.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Champ
Read the statements and choose the correct option:
1. Arboreal animals spend most of their lives in trees. 2. A dolphin is an arboreal animal. 3. Most gibbons lead an arboreal life.
a) only 1 and 3
b) only 2 and 3
c) all three are true
d) only 1
Show answer
a) only 1 and 3. Dolphins live in the sea, so only the first and third statements are true.
Jumble Tumble
Choose the correct sequence of the jumbled letters to form a meaningful word:
rbearola 12345678
a) 41265387
b) 78356214
c) 42165387
d) 41265783
Show answer
a) 41265387. Reading the letters as 4, 1, 2, 6, 5, 3, 8, 7 gives arboreal.
Word Tally
How many words are misspelt in the given sentence?
Orangutans are arboreal apes that bild a fresh nest high in the rainforest canopy every evning.
a) 2
b) 1
c) 0
d) 3
Show answer
a) 2. Build needs a u and evening has lost its middle e; arboreal itself is right.
Spell Probe
One word in the sentence is misspelt. Choose the meaning of that word.
From the watchtower, we spotted an arboreal monkey swinging from branch to branch in search of ripe fruites.
a) a tall tower from which people keep watch
b) the parts of a plant that hold seeds and are often eaten
c) arms of a tree that grow out from the trunk
d) living in trees or connected with trees
Show answer
b) the parts of a plant that hold seeds and are often eaten. Fruits is simply fruit + s, with no e.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which body feature would help an arboreal animal most?
a) webbed feet for swimming
b) hooves for running on sand
c) a hump for storing fat
d) long arms and a strong grip
Show answer
d) long arms and a strong grip
2. Which sentence uses arboreal correctly?
a) The goldfish was arboreal and swam in its bowl.
b) My arboreal homework was done in an hour.
c) Many frogs in the Western Ghats are arboreal.
d) The camel is an arboreal animal of the desert.
Show answer
c) Many frogs in the Western Ghats are arboreal.
