predacious

[ pri-dey-shuhs ]

/ prɪˈdeɪ ʃəs /

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See synonyms for predacious on Thesaurus.com

adjective

predatory; rapacious.

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Also especially Biology, pre·da·ceous .

Origin of predacious

First recorded in 1705–15; pred(atory) + -acious

OTHER WORDS FROM predacious

pre·da·cious·ness, pre·dac·i·ty

[pri-das-i-tee]; /prɪˈdæs ɪ ti/; especially Biology, pre·da·ceous·ness, nounun·pre·da·ceous, adjectiveun·pre·da·ceous·ly, adverbun·pre·da·ceous·ness, noun

un·pre·da·cious, adjectiveun·pre·da·cious·ly, adverbun·pre·da·cious·ness, noun

Words nearby predacious

precursory, precursory cartilage, precut, precycle, pred., predacious, predate, predation, predation pressure, predatism, predator

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use predacious in a sentence

The sea-leopard, the only predacious member of the seal family, has an elongated agile body and a large head with massive jaws.
The Home of the Blizzard|Douglas Mawson
Thus was a graminivorous animal nurtured by a carnivorous and predacious one!
The Book of Curiosities|I. Platts
Those warlike and predacious Indians would not keep the peace, nor would they allow other people to do so.
Myths & Legends of our New Possessions & Protectorate|Charles M. Skinner
Among animals, the Orthoceratites led a predacious life in the Silurian seas.
The World Before the Deluge|Louis Figuier

Bugs are all injurious to man, excepting such as are predacious, which are serviceable by destroying other insects.
American Pomology|J. A. Warder

British Dictionary definitions for predacious

predacious

predaceous

/ (prɪˈdeɪʃəs) /

adjective

(of animals) habitually hunting and killing other animals for food

preying on others

Derived forms of predacious

predaciousness, predaceousness or predacity (prɪˈdæsɪtɪ), noun

Word Origin for predacious

C18: from Latin praeda plunder; compare predatory

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

predacious

Origin of predacious

OTHER WORDS FROM predacious

Words nearby predacious

Words related to predacious

How to use predacious in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for predacious

predaceous

Derived forms of predacious

Word Origin for predacious