living being
Something that breathes
A living being is any organism that possesses life—something that grows, metabolizes, responds to its environment, and reproduces.
The term encompasses everything from bacteria to humans, though it often carries philosophical or spiritual weight that mere "organism" lacks.
Every living being deserves respect.
In religious and ethical contexts, living being may emphasize consciousness or sentience: Buddhism teaches compassion for all living beings.
- organismLiving biological entity
- breathAir taken in
- breath of lifeAnimating essence within beings
- cellBasic unit of life
- organic matterMaterial from living sources
consciousness · skin · flesh and blood · warm blooded · sentience · eat · adaptation · reproduction · drink · vitality · circle of life · homeostasis · soul · anima · metabolism · growth · decomposer · symbiont