rapacious

adjective

ra·​pa·​cious rə-ˈpā-shəs How to pronounce rapacious (audio)
Synonyms of rapaciousnext
1
: excessively grasping or covetous
2
: living on prey
3
: ravenous
a rapacious appetite
rapaciously adverb
rapaciousness noun

Synonyms

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Choose the Right Synonym for rapacious

voracious, gluttonous, ravenous, rapacious mean excessively greedy.

voracious applies especially to habitual gorging with food or drink.

teenagers are often voracious eaters

gluttonous applies to one who delights in eating or acquiring things especially beyond the point of necessity or satiety.

an admiral who was gluttonous for glory

ravenous implies excessive hunger and suggests violent or grasping methods of dealing with food or with whatever satisfies an appetite.

a nation with a ravenous lust for territorial expansion

rapacious often suggests excessive and utterly selfish acquisitiveness or avarice.

rapacious developers indifferent to environmental concerns

Examples of rapacious in a Sentence

nothing livens things up like a whole team of rapacious basketball players descending upon the pizza parlor rapacious mammals, such as coyotes, foxes, and bobcats
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The rapacious Chicago Teachers Union took advantage of an inexperienced Mayor Lori Lightfoot, ramming legislation through Springfield phasing out mayoral control of public schools. — Forrest Claypool, Chicago Tribune, 14 Mar. 2025 Such support might marginally improve Chad’s rapacious security sector. — Nathaniel K. Powell, Foreign Affairs, 1 Feb. 2016 To that end, his meeting with the notoriously rapacious lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong), who’d successfully prosecuted the Rosenbergs and served as Joseph McCarthy’s right hand in anti-Communist hearings, sets off a lucrative and sinister mentorship. — Scott Tobias, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025 There are striking parallels between Deus Ex’s themes and Musk’s own intellectual interests, from transhumanism and rapacious capitalism through to conspiracy theories. — Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 14 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for rapacious

Word History

Etymology

Latin rapāc-, rapāx "given to seizing or catching things (as prey), carrying away, excessively grasping" (from rapere "to seize and carry off" + -āc-, -āx, deverbal suffix denoting habitual or successful performance) + -ious — more at rapid entry 1, audacious

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of rapacious was in 1651

Rhymes for rapacious

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rapacious
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Cite this Entry

“Rapacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rapacious. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.

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Kids Definition

rapacious

adjective
ra·​pa·​cious rə-ˈpā-shəs How to pronounce rapacious (audio)
1
: very greedy
2
: predatory sense 2
rapaciously adverb
rapaciousness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on rapacious

Nglish: Translation of rapacious for Spanish Speakers

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