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rapacious

[ ruh-pey-shuhs ]
/ rəˈpeɪ ʃəs /
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See synonyms for: rapacious / rapaciousness / rapacity on Thesaurus.com
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.
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Origin of rapacious

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

synonym study for rapacious

2. See avaricious.

OTHER WORDS FROM rapacious

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

Words related to rapacious

ferocious, greedy, marauding, predatory, ravenous, voracious, avaricious, furious, murderous, preying, ravening, savage

How to use rapacious in a sentence

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 forms of rapacious

rapaciously, 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
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