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as in predatory
living by killing and eating other animals rapacious mammals, such as coyotes, foxes, and bobcats

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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Synonym Chooser

How is the word rapacious different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of rapacious are gluttonous, ravenous, and voracious. While all these words mean "excessively greedy," rapacious often suggests excessive and utterly selfish acquisitiveness or avarice.

rapacious developers indifferent to environmental concerns

When can gluttonous be used instead of rapacious?

Although the words gluttonous and rapacious have much in common, gluttonous applies to one who delights in eating or acquiring things especially beyond the point of necessity or satiety.

an admiral who was gluttonous for glory

When could ravenous be used to replace rapacious?

The synonyms ravenous and rapacious are sometimes interchangeable, but ravenous implies excessive hunger and suggests violent or grasping methods of dealing with food or with whatever satisfies an appetite.

a nation with a ravenous lust for territorial expansion

When might voracious be a better fit than rapacious?

The meanings of voracious and rapacious largely overlap; however, voracious applies especially to habitual gorging with food or drink.

teenagers are often voracious eaters

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rapacious Without a Yanukovych presidency, the Ukrainian government and armed forces might not have atrophied, and a rapacious kleptocracy might not have taken hold. Alexander Vindman, Foreign Affairs, 8 Aug. 2022 But providing that service shouldn’t require charging rapacious fees that exploit the most financially vulnerable. Jemima McEvoy, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025 Of abuse and coercion by rapacious family members eager to get their hands on an inheritance. Teri Sforza, Orange County Register, 25 Mar. 2025 If anything, his regime grew more predatory, more rapacious, more violent in the past few years. Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for rapacious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rapacious
Adjective
  • What the greedy developers are trying to do burns me to no end.
    Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 May 2025
  • The beloved ruler was supposed to care about the wellbeing of his people, but the noblemen beneath him were greedy and indifferent.
    David Hambling, Forbes.com, 6 May 2025
Adjective
  • The extent of that predatory behavior became starkly evident when Ventura described how Combs allegedly raped her in the living room of her LA apartment in 2018.
    Dominic Patten, Deadline, 19 May 2025
  • Bars shouldn’t let people buy drinks for strangers and shouldn’t facilitate this very outdated—and quite frankly predatory—practice.
    Hana Asbrink, Bon Appetit Magazine, 13 May 2025
Adjective
  • Apple has detected mercenary spyware attacks on select iPhones and issued Threat Notifications to those affected, TechCrunch reports.
    Jibin Joseph, PC Magazine, 2 May 2025
  • The most advanced phone-hacking technology sold by mercenary firms requires no target interaction and leaves no indication that the device has been tampered with.
    Ronald J. Deibert, Foreign Affairs, 24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • No one’s allowed to eat carbs on-site, forcing the ravenous grounds crew to sneak bagels behind a shed.
    Caroline Framke, Vulture, 22 May 2025
  • Knowing how ravenous tech companies are for data, people can hardly be blamed for this attitude.
    Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 20 May 2025
Adjective
  • The comedy-drama follows a Gen Z content creator who returns to her ancestral home seeking viral material, only to encounter her deceased brother’s ghost while dealing with avaricious relatives.
    Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 Apr. 2025
  • This nation state, my home, is built on a quagmire of lies sold to the young as truths; sold to the insecure as truths; sold by the avaricious, the power-hungry, the conceited, the overwhelmingly white and male.
    Christine Winter, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • And fans also will be eager to watch the team play again.
    Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 28 May 2025
  • Against this backdrop of uncertainty, Dawkins is eager to get back on the court.
    Matt Murschel, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 May 2025
Adjective
  • Over its history OpenText has been an highly acquisitive company to build out its software stack.
    GuruFocus, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
  • Banijay has been among the most acquisitive independent TV makers of recent years, and now reportedly has its sights on ITV.
    Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 27 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Rapacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rapacious. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.

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