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  • Word comparison: endangered vs. threatened species

endangered vs. threatened species

endangered

adjective

  1. threatened with a danger:

    endangered lives of trapped coal miners.

  2. Biology, Ecology. generally perceived as threatened with extinction:

    In 1967, the U.S. government declared the bald eagle endangered, but the national bird’s population recovery since then has been remarkable.

  3. Biology, Ecology. (of a threatened plant or animal species) having a very high risk of extinction, second only to the status of critically endangered, as categorized by the IUCN Red List: : EN

    There are more than 3,600 endangered plant species throughout the world.

threatened species

noun

Biology, Ecology.
  1. a plant or animal species generally perceived as likely, in the near future, to become endangered within all or much of its range:

    The drainage of this wetland promises to leave us with a number of threatened species.

  2. a plant or animal species that has been categorized by the IUCN Red List as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered:

    In evaluating the conservation status of this threatened species, we must follow closely the population growth rate.