predatory
Americanadjective
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Zoology. preying upon other organisms for food.
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of, relating to, or characterized by plunder, pillage, or robbery, as in war.
predatory tactics.
- Synonyms:
- rapacious
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engaging in or living by these activities.
predatory bands of brigands.
- Synonyms:
- rapacious
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excessive or exploitative in amount or cost, as out of greed or to take advantage of consumers or patrons.
predatory pricing.
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seeking to exploit, victimize, or prey on others.
More and more, senior citizens find themselves victims of predatory scams that rob them of their savings.
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acting with or possessed by overbearing, greedy, or selfish motives.
He was cornered at the party by a predatory reporter.
adjective
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zoology another word for predacious
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of, involving, or characterized by plundering, robbing, etc
Other Word Forms
- nonpredatorily adverb
- nonpredatorilyness noun
- nonpredatory adjective
- predatorily adverb
- predatoriness noun
- unpredatory adjective
Etymology
Origin of predatory
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin praedātōrius “plundering, marauding”; predator, -tory 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Shielding kids from the worst predatory coaches was “non-negotiable,” a spokesperson for Blumenthal platitudinously proclaimed last year.
From Salon
If Kennedy was an American prince, the lovely and stylish Bessette was his princess, loved, hated and swarmed at every turn by a predatory paparazzi.
From Los Angeles Times
Parents who say they warned childcare bosses about a predatory nursery worker months before he was caught have told the BBC they felt ignored and were made to feel "hysterical".
From BBC
Stopping repayment doesn’t necessarily mean a user never plans to repay what they borrowed, said Mike Pierce, the executive director of Protect Borrowers, a nonprofit focused on fighting predatory lending practices.
From MarketWatch
Ioannis Spilanis, emeritus professor at the University of the Aegean, says what is happening in the Cyclades "is voracious, predatory real estate".
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
