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
These include many species of birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles, as well as predatory insects and spiders, and pathogens specific to pests, such as Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) for many caterpillars.
—
Nanette Londeree, Mercury News, 4 Aug. 2025
Redlining, financial exclusion, and predatory lending are just some of the ways dominant financial systems have caused harm.
—Rahkim Sabree, Forbes.com, 29 July 2025
Company paid $13 million to settle 'numerous allegations of predatory conduct'
Kent earned his undergraduate degree in 2005 at West Virginia Wesleyan College, a private school with ties to the United Methodist Church.
—Chris Quintana, USA Today, 26 July 2025
While companion planting can naturally attract predatory insects to your garden, some growers may want to release parasitic wasps directly onto their lily plants for beetle control.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for predatory
Nanette Londeree, Mercury News, 4 Aug. 2025
Redlining, financial exclusion, and predatory lending are just some of the ways dominant financial systems have caused harm.
—Rahkim Sabree, Forbes.com, 29 July 2025
Company paid $13 million to settle 'numerous allegations of predatory conduct'
Kent earned his undergraduate degree in 2005 at West Virginia Wesleyan College, a private school with ties to the United Methodist Church.
—Chris Quintana, USA Today, 26 July 2025
While companion planting can naturally attract predatory insects to your garden, some growers may want to release parasitic wasps directly onto their lily plants for beetle control.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for predatory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for predatory
Adjective
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Black people are depicted as rapists and cannibals, Jews as rapacious and controlling, and white people who believe in a multicultural society as race traitors who also deserve to die.—
James Shapiro,
The Atlantic,
18 July 2025
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But the cynicism that has always thrummed underneath his high-concept comedies — the dehumanizing algorithms, the rapacious finance system — is more prominent in this slim, potent novel.—
Mark Athitakis,
Los Angeles Times,
3 July 2025
Adjective
-
Potential Fed chair David Zervos backs an aggressive rate cut.—
Yeo Boon Ping,
CNBC,
15 Aug. 2025
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Poor oral hygiene allows plaque bacteria to produce acids that contribute to decay, while aggressive brushing can physically wear away the enamel surface.—
Thomas Westerholm,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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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
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Look for and conserve natural enemies such as predaceous bugs, lacewings, lady beetles, and syrphids.—
The San Diego Union Tribune,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 Jan. 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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Detailed testimonies of refugees along the Balkan route therefore challenge the conventional wisdom that officials tend to protect them from raptorial smugglers.—
Max Abrahms,
Foreign Affairs,
22 Mar. 2017
Adjective
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Police chases in Milwaukee have become increasingly deadly Police pursuits are so frequent, Milwaukee officers engage in between two and three every day, according to a city report in 2024.—
JR Radcliffe,
jsonline.com,
9 Aug. 2025
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Malaria, the most deadly parasite infection in the world, is most commonly caused by the protozoa parasite Plasmodium falciparum.4 Ectoparasites: These parasites usually live on (not in) their host.—
Jenna Anderson,
Health,
8 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Historian Terry Bouton has argued compellingly that most of the framers, landholding elites, deeply mistrusted the mass of American countrymen, and saw democracy as a wild, unruly stallion that needed to be tamed.—
Matthew Redmond
August 13,
Literary Hub,
13 Aug. 2025
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Fans used to seeing the Kansas City Chiefs star all suited up for football games or a night out with gf Taylor Swift may do a double take at the (literally) wild spread.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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There ended up being a fire in the shop, and police discovered the victims (again, content warning for a violent crime), naked, tied up, burned, shot in the head with at least one of them having been raped.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
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Shortly thereafter, Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections and staged a violent coup to overthrow the Palestinian Authority and seize control of the Strip.—
Amelie Botbol,
FOXNews.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Typical confusion and disruption for a ferocious Vikings unit led by blitz enthusiast and defensive coordinator Brian Flores, but a shock to the Patriots’ offensive system.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
13 Aug. 2025
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Aquaman star Jason Momoa learned that lesson the hard way while attempting a miles-long paddle through ferocious Hawaiian waters and nearly not coming back up.—
Ryan Coleman Published,
EW.com,
12 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Predatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predatory. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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