pre·da·ceous
pri-ˈdā-shəs 
variants
or predacious
1
: living by preying on other animals : predatory
2
usually predacious
: tending to devour or despoil : rapacious
predaceousness
noun
plural -es
: the quality or state of being predacious
a boy … with plenty of drive and predacity—
Max Lerner
Max LernerExamples of predaceous in a Sentence
Adjective
the predaceous animals of the jungle, with the tiger at the top of the food chain
Recent Examples on the Web
Bruce Beehler,
Baltimore Sun,
17 Aug. 2025
Biological control: Parasitic wasps, predaceous beetles and birds assist in lowering sawfly populations.
—
Rita Perwich,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Apr. 2025
Biden officials are offering up to 30,000 migrants per month a two-year permit to live and work in the United States under the terms of the program, and say such legal pathways are successfully steering migrants toward a safer and more orderly option than the one offered by predacious smugglers.
—
Nick Miroff,
Anchorage Daily News,
1 Feb. 2023
Various species of aquatic insects, such as the predaceous diving beetle, use bubbles for breathing underwater.
—
Elizabeth Gamillo,
Smithsonian Magazine,
27 May 2021
People may be aware that consumer debt collection is predaceous and corrupt; that low-income people face terrible odds in family or housing court; that anyone hoping to receive government benefits depends on the whim, and competence, of bureaucrats seeking to cut costs.
—
Kathryn Joyce,
The New Republic,
22 June 2020
Early in the season, these mites are pollen feeders, then become predaceous as more prey develops, according to 2012 research at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio.
—
Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp,
Indianapolis Star,
15 June 2018
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Adjective
These food-crops also benefit from the work performed by predaceous insects that control populations of crop-eating invertebrates.
—
Bruce Beehler,
Baltimore Sun,
17 Aug. 2025
Biological control: Parasitic wasps, predaceous beetles and birds assist in lowering sawfly populations.
—
Rita Perwich,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Apr. 2025
Biden officials are offering up to 30,000 migrants per month a two-year permit to live and work in the United States under the terms of the program, and say such legal pathways are successfully steering migrants toward a safer and more orderly option than the one offered by predacious smugglers.
—
Nick Miroff,
Anchorage Daily News,
1 Feb. 2023
Various species of aquatic insects, such as the predaceous diving beetle, use bubbles for breathing underwater.
—
Elizabeth Gamillo,
Smithsonian Magazine,
27 May 2021
People may be aware that consumer debt collection is predaceous and corrupt; that low-income people face terrible odds in family or housing court; that anyone hoping to receive government benefits depends on the whim, and competence, of bureaucrats seeking to cut costs.
—
Kathryn Joyce,
The New Republic,
22 June 2020
Early in the season, these mites are pollen feeders, then become predaceous as more prey develops, according to 2012 research at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio.
—
Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp,
Indianapolis Star,
15 June 2018
Cite this Entry
“Predaceous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/predaceous. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
predaceous
adjective
pre·da·ceous
variants
or predacious
: living by preying on others : predatory sense 2
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