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.
"Sometimes we feel afraid because these snow leopards are after all predatory animals, but this is where we belong."
From BBC
As a parent, I want the law to step in to protect children from predatory tech companies, and to relieve me of the burden of making my own children social pariahs.
Part of the plan is to create “concrete” mechanisms to ensure predatory pricing can’t happen, including enforceable price floors and reference prices.
From Barron's
The Met Police described him as a "dangerous and predatory individual".
From BBC
The floors were deemed necessary to protect the U.S. domestic rare-earth industry from predatory Chinese pricing.
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.
