par ‧ a ‧ sit ‧ ic /ˌpærəˈsɪtɪk◂/ BrE AmE ( also par‧a‧sit‧i‧cal /-ˈsɪtɪk ə l/) adjective
1 . living in or on another plant or animal and getting food from them:
parasitic fungi
2 . a parasitic person is lazy, does no work, and depends on other people
3 . a parasitic disease is caused by parasites
—parasitically /-kli/ adverb