rapacious
Americanadjective
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given to seizing for plunder or the satisfaction of greed.
-
inordinately greedy; predatory; extortionate.
a rapacious disposition.
- Antonyms:
- generous
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(of animals) subsisting by the capture of living prey; predacious.
adjective
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practising pillage or rapine
-
greedy or grasping
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(of animals, esp birds) subsisting by catching living prey
Synonym Usage
See avaricious.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rapacious
First recorded in 1645–55; from Latin rapāci- (stem of rapāx “greedy,” akin to rapere “to seize”; see rape 1) + -ous
Explanation
Something rapacious is out to devour — anything, and little can stand in its way. A rapacious landlord is out for more rent, and a rapacious eater is only satisfied at the all-you-can-eat buffet. A 17th-century word, from the Latin rapere, "to snatch," rapacious originally described the people and animals who often preyed on weaker creatures and devoured them, by eating them or by ruining them through some scandal. Modern-day companies even get the label rapacious when their appetites for profit seem to devour "lesser" interests, like the environment and employee benefits.
Vocabulary lists containing rapacious
"The Landlady" by Roald Dahl
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Grade 11, List 2
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"What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" by Frederick Douglass
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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.
"The Moment" satirises the consequences of her hit 2024 album "brat", as rapacious record company executives and a film director played by Alexander Skarsgard seek to jump on the juggernaut.
From Barron's • Feb. 14, 2026
When their rapacious cousin Charles appears, hoping to find buried treasure in the house and romancing the “pink and white and golden” Constance, Merricat takes drastic action.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025
But the cynicism that has always thrummed underneath his high-concept comedies — the dehumanizing algorithms, the rapacious finance system — is more prominent in this slim, potent novel.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 3, 2025
“It wouldn’t work. The United States has a rapacious appetite for pushing kids. But I can at least make sure a child is given their sweet time in kindergarten,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 24, 2025
Considering now, in contrast, the characteristics of Commodus, Severus, Antoninus Caracalla, and Maximinus, you will find them extremely cruel and extremely rapacious.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
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.
