rapacity

American  

[ruh-pas-i-tee] / rəˈpæs ɪ ti /

Also rapaciousness

noun

1. the quality of being rapacious, or given to seizing things for plunder.

   That the monastery was raided six times, and burned 26 times in between, shows the rapacity of the Vikings.

2. extreme greediness; predatory quality or character.

   People blamed the higher prices on the rapacity of businesses.

3. (of animals) the fact or characteristic of subsisting by the capture of living prey.

   The early settlers of America suffered from the severity of the climate and the rapacity of wolves.

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Other Word Forms

• unrapaciousness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of rapacity

First recorded in 1490–1500, from Latin rapācitās, equivalent to rapāci- (stem of rapāx “greedy”; see rapacious ( def. )) + -tās -ty ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rapacity

Perhaps my cynicism about Mr. Witkoff’s curious mix of ingenuousness and rapacity is unfair.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 1, 2025

Nor has there ever been a time when the link between our rapacity and our present misery has felt as clear.

From New York Times ● Feb. 16, 2023

But we had no illusion that Ricca, et al., would actually restrain their rapacity.

From Washington Times ● Dec. 25, 2020

Many modern apologists for British colonial rule in India no longer contest the basic facts of imperial exploitation and plunder, rapacity and loot, which are too deeply documented to be challengeable.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 8, 2017

With Great-Bridge fallen, nothing stood between their town and the rapacity of the enemy.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson