rapacious
[ruh-pey-shuh s]
- 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
Synonyms
See more synonyms for rapacious on Thesaurus.com2. ravenous, voracious, grasping; preying.
Synonym study
2. See avaricious.
Antonyms
2. generous.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for rapacity
Contemporary Examples
Even as we cheer for her stamina, we shrink from her rapacity.
Historical Examples
His eyes shone with rapacity and hope; he became confidential.
Nostromo: A Tale of the SeaboardJoseph Conrad
Her folly and rapacity will sooner or later have their effect.
Memoirs of the Court of George IV. 1820-1830 (Vol 1)Duke of Buckingham and Chandos
"I don't know that rapacity is confined to trade," admitted Annie.
A Houseful of GirlsSarah Tytler
And the Spaniard here, who has been driven out for his cruelty and rapacity.
A Little Girl in Old DetroitAmanda Minnie Douglas
With the rapacity Kidd had the cruelty of his odious calling.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.Thomas Babington Macaulay
rapacious
- practising pillage or rapine
- greedy or grasping
- (of animals, esp birds) subsisting by catching living prey
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for rapacity
n.
1540s, from Middle French rapacité (16c.), from Latin rapacitatem (nominative rapacitas) "greediness," from rapax (genitive rapacis) "grasping, plundering," from rapere "seize" (see rapid).
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rapacious
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper