# parasite vs parasitic

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### parasite
*noun · IPA /ˈpæɹəˌsaɪt/ · frequency rank #14,805*
An organism that lives on or in another organism of a different species, deriving benefit from living on or in that other organism, while not contributing towards that other organism sufficiently to cover the cost to that other organism.

### parasitic
*adjective · IPA /ˌpæɹ.əˈsɪt.ɪk/ · frequency rank #20,452*
Of or pertaining to a biological or symbolic parasite.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/parasite-vs-parasitic