1
as in greedy
having a huge appetite
nothing livens things up like a whole team of rapacious basketball players descending upon the pizza parlor
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in predatory
living by killing and eating other animals
rapacious mammals, such as coyotes, foxes, and bobcats
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in mercenary
having or marked by an eager and often selfish desire especially for material possessions
rapacious plunderers who despoiled the tombs in the ancient pyramids
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rapacious
The sensationalized trial, every detail passed from rapacious reporters to a bloodthirsty public.
—
Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 19 Aug. 2025
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
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
In this, the first installment, there are two deaths—first, of a local contractor with ties to the underworld, then of the retirement village’s rapacious developer.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for rapacious
Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 19 Aug. 2025
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
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
In this, the first installment, there are two deaths—first, of a local contractor with ties to the underworld, then of the retirement village’s rapacious developer.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for rapacious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rapacious
Adjective
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Polaha plays Dick Hall, the president of Meridian Mortgage who is taken hostage by Tony Kiritsis (Ribisi), who publicly accuses him on being a greedy and cutthroat monster.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
24 Sep. 2025
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Left-wing antisemitism, which cast Jews as greedy capitalists, existed as well, especially in France, but Jew-baiting remained primarily a right-wing pursuit, the work of illiberal nativists who saw a tiny minority as polluting the purity of their racial or religious communities.—
Ian Buruma,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Research shows that the marketing practices of commercial infant formula companies are predatory, pervasive and misleading.—
Ann Kellams,
The Conversation,
2 Oct. 2025
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During a recent appearance on VladTV, the iconic video vixen opened up about her experience touring the country at 14 years old and how the period exposed her to predatory behavior from associates of 2 Live Crew and other celebrities.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Black and his co-writers soften the cold mercenary side of Parker by giving him something of a moral compass, which prompts him to toss $10,000 to the stranger’s wife before fleeing the scene.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Sep. 2025
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Back when Dragon Ball Z was turning more Western audiences into anime fans, Berserk brought the tale of Guts and his mercenary adventures to startling life.—
Chris Snellgrove,
Entertainment Weekly,
27 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The fourpiece — through their 1999 EP known as First Impressions, as well as their 2000 LP, Identity Crisis — had already developed a ravenous local following for their genre fusion of punk and metal that’s most commonly regarded as post-hardcore.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Sep. 2025
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The ravenous larvae create ghastly wounds that can be deadly to livestock and wild animals.—
Beth Mole,
ArsTechnica,
24 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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But is better than the alternative of admitting to an avaricious Moscow that Ukraine must accept some kind of defeat.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
24 Sep. 2025
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Manipulating these obviously very greedy and avaricious [people] is still kind of beneath his skills.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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This isn’t necessarily surprising, given that the last four episodes of the season were released September 3, meaning most eager audiences are likely to have caught up by now.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
30 Sep. 2025
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Henry’s blend of swoony love and spicy romance with compelling characters has rocketed her to the top of the bestseller lists, and fans are eager to see how that might translate to film success.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Building out that platform and benefiting as more teams are plugged into it has meant Leonsis and MSE have stayed acquisitive.—
Ian Thomas,
CNBC,
18 Sep. 2025
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Retail e-commerce penetration had surged during the pandemic, which brought a rush of acquisitive capital into the space.—
Lien De Pau,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rapacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rapacious. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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