PREDATORY Synonyms: 18 Similar and Opposite Words

predatory

adjective

ˈpre-də-ˌtȯr-ē

Definition of predatory

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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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 predatory If his plea is accepted, court documents say Wetzel will be put on probation for five years and will be added to the predatory offender registry for 10 years. — Wcco Staff, CBS News, 23 Aug. 2026 To legitimize its role as something more than predatory domination, Washington launched the Arab-Israeli peace process in hopes of integrating its Arab allies and Israel into a common security framework. — Marc Lynch, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026 Opponents of gender recognition reform argued that self-identification would allow predatory men to access women-only spaces and harm women. — Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2026 It’s known for its remoteness, with rugged islands, incredible marine life, and, yes, its legendary Komodo dragons—the planet’s largest predatory lizards that are often compared to dinosaurs. — Annie Daly, Vogue, 11 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for predatory

Recent Examples of Synonyms for predatory

Adjective

In a satiric short video, Rabid Dogs, 2002, for example, white-collar workers dress upas rapacious canines, clutching Burberry bags in their mouths and traversing cubicles on all fours.

— Pablo Larios, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026
Meta hit back hard in its own opening statements Tuesday afternoon, saying many of the memos and reports the states used to paint them as rapacious were actually evidence of the company’s efforts to protect its youngest users.

— Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of rapacious

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
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

Definition of predaceous

Adjective

Given the absence of venom, the researchers propose that these arachnids likely use strong raptorial pedipalps (claw-like appendages).

— Jay Kakade July 13, New Atlas, 14 July 2026
These predators patrol, stalk and swiftly capture their prey with raptorial front legs.

— Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 July 2026

Definition of raptorial

Adjective

Deadly crash comes amid Labor Day travel The deadly crash happened during the Labor Day travel rush at the South Florida hub.

— Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2026
Jack Lang El Hadji Malick Diouf (Brentford) When Senegal beat England in a friendly last summer, the standout player was their rangy left-back, who seemed to spend the entire game ploughing up and down that flank and whipping in deadly crosses.

— David Ornstein, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of deadly

Adjective

Giamatti makes Jerry ferocious but not monstruous, a man who certainly likes barking orders at various underlings but loves making good theater even more.

— Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2026
Up to this point, Ghostface victims have been stabbed with Buck 120 hunting knives, crushed by garage doors, shot, electrocuted, and thrown off rooftops in ferocious, balls-to-the-wall Scream fashion.

— Michael Lee Simpson, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of ferocious

Adjective

With how the current postseason schedule is set up, the Jays could get through a wild-card round and five-game series with just three starters.

— Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Inspired by real events, the six-parter centers on the first criminal investigation in Spain into the killing of a wild animal, following the death of bear Cachou in the Pyrenees’ Aran Valley in 2020.

— Annika Pham, Variety, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of wild

Adjective

Bryan Singer’s ingenious thriller is both a graceful callback to ’50s potboilers and a savage modernization of them.

— Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026
Cole, who has to maneuver his way around 20 savage crew members, each of whom will need to be killed, doesn’t waste a homicidal movement.

— Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of savage

Browse Nearby Words

predators

predatory

predecease

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“Predatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predatory. Accessed 9 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of predatory

adjective

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