as in rapacious
living by killing and eating other animals
hawks are predatory and pose a danger to rabbits and other pets
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Recent Examples of predatory
Morrow’s predatory instinct comes out.
—
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025
Despite post-1990s laws like the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act, regulators under Alan Greenspan ignored warnings about predatory lending and derivatives.
—Steve Booren, Denver Post, 21 Sep. 2025
Despite his wedding, Farwell continued having a predatory relationship with Birchmore up until her death, prosecutors allege.
—Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 20 Sep. 2025
Experts explain why boys are vulnerable to predatory behavior online, and offers tips for parents on how to keep them safe.
—Ashleigh N. Deluca, Parents, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for predatory
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025
Despite post-1990s laws like the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act, regulators under Alan Greenspan ignored warnings about predatory lending and derivatives.
—Steve Booren, Denver Post, 21 Sep. 2025
Despite his wedding, Farwell continued having a predatory relationship with Birchmore up until her death, prosecutors allege.
—Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 20 Sep. 2025
Experts explain why boys are vulnerable to predatory behavior online, and offers tips for parents on how to keep them safe.
—Ashleigh N. Deluca, Parents, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for predatory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for predatory
Adjective
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But what if their rapacious appetites had an unexpected side effect?—
Rebecca Boyle,
Scientific American,
4 Oct. 2025
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Having secured both monopolies and monopsonies, tech companies behave more like rapacious rentiers than proper capitalists.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harpers Magazine,
19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Sell assets for picks and cap space and attack an aggressive rebuild this offseason.—
Paul Dehner Jr,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
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Control an aggressive infestation with a preemergent herbicide applied in late summer before chickweed seeds germinate.—
Megan Hughes,
Better Homes & Gardens,
4 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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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
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Biological control: Parasitic wasps, predaceous beetles and birds assist in lowering sawfly populations.—
Rita Perwich,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Villegas pushed for the original measure after dangerous speeding and red-light running by raptorial tow drivers ended in a nearly catastrophic crash in his ward that saw a bus that had been hit by a tow truck plow through a storefront.—
Jake Sheridan,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Apr. 2025
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Damsel bugs are slender and tan-colored and have slightly raptorial front legs.—
Rita Perwich,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
1 July 2023
Adjective
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During a three-day rampage of gang violence, some 80 people died — the deadliest days in El Salvador since its civil war.—
T. Christian Miller,
ProPublica,
30 Sep. 2025
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One Pasteurella-like microbe carried genetic hints of virulence and has ties to deadly outbreaks in modern African elephants.—
Pranjal Malewar,
New Atlas,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Since 2020, the center has cared for 16 mountain lions as well as thousands of other wild animals from baby songbirds to coyotes to bears.—
Karen Kucher,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 Sep. 2025
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The second is for wild rubber, which consists of working with some 3,000 families that live in the middle of the Amazon forest.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Sourcing Journal,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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While Memphis has seen high numbers of violent crimes such as homicides and carjackings in recent years, Democratic and Republican officials have noted decreases this year in some crime categories.—
Devon M. Sayers,
CNN Money,
1 Oct. 2025
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Even so, to take on one of the most famous women in history — and through a lens so bloody and violent — is a mighty tall order.—
Shirley Halperin,
HollywoodReporter,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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In a competition bear-ly more ferocious, 12 chunky brown bears in Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve have been battling it out in one of the most cutthroat places on the planet – the internet.—
Lilit Marcus,
CNN Money,
1 Oct. 2025
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The numbers may not leap off the page, but one of Sunday’s most exciting clashes was the 60-minute chess match between the Detroit Lions’ run game and the Cleveland Browns’ ferocious defensive front.—
The Athletic Staff,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Predatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predatory. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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