From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishparasiticpar‧a‧sit‧ic /ˌpærəˈsɪtɪk◂/ (also parasitical /-ˈsɪtɪkəl/) adjective 1 HBAHBPliving in or on another plant or animal and getting food from them parasitic fungi2 LAZYASK FOR something/ASK somebody TO DO somethinga parasitic person is lazy, does no work, and depends on other people3 MIa parasitic disease is caused by parasites —parasitically /-kli/ adverb
Examples from the Corpus
parasitic• Parasitic beetles often make their homes in the nests of ants.• Brood parasitic birds are becoming favoured examples in studies of coevolution.• Urban elites are economically parasitic but politically dominant.• Destructiveness and self-doubt are preferable to the enfeebled body politic and the parasitic Church.• The more violent the oscillations the greater the amount of parasitic genetic material.• Both free-living and parasitic phases of the life cycle are similar to those of the bovine species.• The free-living and parasitic stages are similar to those of Ostertagia.• It is only the female Ergasilus which is parasitic to fish.• The vector of the parasitic worm is a tiny crustacean, Cyclops. 