They are mostly of small size, and their molar teeth have sharp cusps. Most of the species burrow in
the earth, and many of those of cold climates hibernate in winter. The order includes the moles, shrews,
hedgehogs, tanrecs, and allied animals, also the colugo.
2. A division of the Cheiroptera, including the common or insect-eating bats.
Insectivore
(In*sec"ti*vore) n.; pl. Insectivores [F.] (Zoöl.) One of the Insectivora.
Insectivorous
(In`sec*tiv"o*rous) a. [See Insectivora.] Feeding or subsisting on insects; carnivorous.
The term is applied: (a) to plants which have some special adaptation for catching and digesting insects,
as the sundew, Venus's flytrap, Sarracenia, etc. (b) to the Insectivora, and to many bats, birds, and
reptiles.
Insectologer
(In`sec*tol"o*ger) n. An entomologist. [Obs.]
Insectology
(In`sec*tol"o*gy) n. [Insect + -logy: cf. F. insectologie.] Entomology. [Obs.]
Insecure
(In`se*cure") a.
1. Not secure; not confident of safety or permanence; distrustful; suspicious; apprehensive of danger or
loss.
With sorrow and insecure apprehensions.
Jer. Taylor. 2. Not effectually guarded, protected, or sustained; unsafe; unstable; exposed to danger or loss. Bp.
Hurg.
The trade with Egypt was exceedingly insecure and precarious.
Mickle. Insecurely
(In`se*cure"ly), adv. In an insecure manner.
Insecureness
(In`se*cure"ness), n. Insecurity.
Insecurity
(In`se*cu"ri*ty) n.; pl. Insecurities [Pref. in- not + security : cf. LL. insecuritas, F. insecurite.]
1. The condition or quality of being insecure; want of safety; danger; hazard; as, the insecurity of a building
liable to fire; insecurity of a debt.
2. The state of feeling insecure; uncertainty; want of confidence.
With what insecurity of truth we ascribe effects . . . unto arbitrary calculations.
Sir T. Browne.
A time of insecurity, when interests of all sorts become objects of speculation.
Burke.
