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rapacious

[ruh-pey-shuhs]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rapacious 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.

Origin of rapacious

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

Related formsra·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, adverbun·ra·pa·cious·ness, noun

Synonyms for rapacious

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rapacious ON THESAURUS.COM

2. ravenous, voracious, grasping; preying.

Synonym study

2. See avaricious.

Antonyms for rapacious

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

Related Words for rapacity

thieving, theft, thievery, stealing, covetousness, voracity, avarice, cupidity, greediness, marauding

Examples from the Web for rapacity

Contemporary Examples of rapacity

Even as we cheer for her stamina, we shrink from her rapacity.
Brecht's Mercenary Mother Courage Turns 75
Katie Baker
September 10, 2014

Historical Examples of rapacity

His eyes shone with rapacity and hope; he became confidential.
Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard
Joseph 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 Girls
Sarah Tytler
And the Spaniard here, who has been driven out for his cruelty and rapacity.
A Little Girl in Old Detroit
Amanda 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

British Dictionary definitions for rapacity

rapacious

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 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).

rapacious

adj.

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

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper