rapacious

[ ruh-pey-shuhs ]

/ rəˈpeɪ ʃəs /

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adjective

given to seizing for plunder or the satisfaction of greed.

inordinately greedy; predatory; extortionate: a rapacious disposition.

(of animals) subsisting by the capture of living prey; predacious.

Nearby words

Origin of rapacious

1645–55; < Latin rapāci- (stem of rapāx greedy, akin to rapere to seize; see rape¹) + -ous

SYNONYMS FOR rapacious

2. ravenous, voracious, grasping; preying.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rapacious ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR rapacious

2. generous.

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Related forms

ra·pa·cious·ly, adverbra·pac·i·ty

[ruh-pas-i-tee] /rəˈpæs ɪ ti/, ra·pa·cious·ness, nounun·ra·pa·cious, adjectiveun·ra·pa·cious·ly, adverb

un·ra·pa·cious·ness, noun

Synonym study

2. See avaricious.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for rapacious

Which brings us to the elephant in the room—the rapacious advance of online bookselling, personified by Amazon.
Amazon Won’t Kill the Indie Bookstore|Bill Morris|July 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
These early rehearsal scenes see Simmons go for the jugular, verbally undressing his students with rapacious license.
‘Whiplash’ Is Sundance’s Hottest Film, A Music-Themed Drama Starring Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons|Marlow Stern|January 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And like the medical profession and the food industry, New York has been spoiled by rapacious profit-mongers and hypercapitalists.
Weren’t Those the Bad Old Days? The Poison of New York City Nostalgia|Michael Moynihan|January 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Mayberry had no banks, however, as squalid and rapacious as mine.
Daddy, How Come You’re Always Broke? Benjamin Anastas’s ‘Too Good to Be True’|Benjamin Anastas|October 15, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Assailing her at every turn has been her rapacious political rival, Tony Abbott.
Aussie P.M. Narrowly Escapes Protest, Leaves Shoe Behind|Sam Bungey|January 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Her captain, who bore the singular name A. Greene Crabtree, proved the most unwelcome and rapacious visitor that had yet appeared.
Glimpses of the Past|W. O. Raymond
It will be observed that even the Hawk, rapacious as he undoubtedly is, is a useful bird.
Birds Illustrated by Color Photography [May, 1897]|Various
And the Junker caste have been as selfish, as rapacious, as their Hohenzollern overlords.
German Problems and Personalities|Charles Sarolea
In the very first election address he ever issued, he styled the Whigs "a rapacious, tyrannical, and incapable faction."
The Contemporary Review, Volume 36, December 1879|Various
They saw the last of the pabas fall; then the rapacious swords, to complete the work, came to them.
The Fair God|Lew Wallace

British Dictionary definitions for rapacious

rapacious

/ (rəˈpeɪʃəs) /

adjective

practising pillage or rapine

greedy or grasping

(of animals, esp birds) subsisting by catching living prey

Derived Formsrapaciously, adverbrapacity (rəˈpæsɪtɪ) or rapaciousness, noun

Word Origin for rapacious

C17: from Latin rapāx grasping, from rapere to seize

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

Word Origin and History for rapacious

rapacious

adj.

1650s, from Latin rapaci-, stem of rapax "grasping," itself from stem of rapere "to seize" (see rapacity) + -ous. Related: Rapaciously; rapaciousness.

rapacious

adjective

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of rapacious

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for rapacious

rapacious

adjective

Word Origin for rapacious

rapacious