as in rapacious
living by killing and eating other animals
hawks are predatory and pose a danger to rabbits and other pets
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Commonly found in vegetable gardens, borage attracts bees and predatory wasps with its attractive flowers.
—
Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Apr. 2026
Protesters who were part of that movement questioned why banks received governmental bailouts while households struggling with predatory student debt did not.
—Celina Su, The Conversation, 1 Apr. 2026
Some people have relied on predatory loans to get by.
—Clio Chang, Curbed, 25 Mar. 2026
For decades, discriminatory housing policies — including redlining, racially restrictive covenants and predatory land-sale contracts — systematically extracted the very wealth from Black families that fuels neighborhood investment.
—Tonika Lewis Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for predatory
Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Apr. 2026
Protesters who were part of that movement questioned why banks received governmental bailouts while households struggling with predatory student debt did not.
—Celina Su, The Conversation, 1 Apr. 2026
Some people have relied on predatory loans to get by.
—Clio Chang, Curbed, 25 Mar. 2026
For decades, discriminatory housing policies — including redlining, racially restrictive covenants and predatory land-sale contracts — systematically extracted the very wealth from Black families that fuels neighborhood investment.
—Tonika Lewis Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for predatory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for predatory
Adjective
-
Sports franchises everywhere can be tacky, rapacious, incompetent, extortionate, and otherwise exploitative, but only because their customers, the fans, are essentially captives.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Queensland had a rapacious frontier in the 19th century, which led to the establishment of the Native Mounted Police in 1848.—
Britannica Editors,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
19 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Gregory Bovino, the controversial head of aggressive enforcement activities in Chicago and Minneapolis, resigned from the agency.—
Rick Pearson,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Apr. 2026
-
That approach, paired with more outreach to Black residents, may help increase the city’s affordable housing stock and close the gap in Black homeownership, though some city council members have urged a more aggressive push on affordable housing.—
Lily Carey,
Baltimore Sun,
27 Apr. 2026
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
Adjective
-
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
-
Damsel bugs are slender and tan-colored and have slightly raptorial front legs.—
Rita Perwich,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
1 July 2023
Adjective
-
As Operation Midway Blitz began to wind down in the Chicago area last November, federal immigration agents launched a new and deadly surge of enforcement in Minneapolis in December and earlier this year.—
Rick Pearson,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Dehydration can be dangerous and downright deadly, and that's even more true for a senior.—
Aly Walansky,
Travel + Leisure,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Focus Features has set a Sept 11 release for the Paul Greengrass directed, Andrew Garfield starring The Uprising, which follows the untold true story of a ferocious rebellion against the tyranny of King Richard II.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
22 Apr. 2026
-
The ferocious rally this month can also be explained in part by technical factors.—
John Towfighi,
CNN Money,
17 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
So much of marketing now that happens on the internet is this wild volume game where people are essentially spamming.—
Dana Taylor,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2026
-
But even wild gusts couldn’t keep these top acts down at the three-day event, which had people flocking to the Mane Stage to see headliners Cody Johnson (Friday), Lainey Wilson (Saturday) and Post Malone (Sunday).—
Charisma Madarang,
Rolling Stone,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
This time playing an underling rather than a boss, Hoskins gave one of the best performances of his career in what remains a high point for Jordan as well, a lyrical and poignant yet savage film noir filled with regret, rage, and unrequited love.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
20 Apr. 2026
-
The famed African American journalist investigated lynchings across the South and wrote about the savage incidents that the white press had already explained away.—
Case Thorp,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Predatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predatory. Accessed 29 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
