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
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rapacious
Based on a viral short film, the movie features Martin Freeman and Susie Porter as a couple who have commandeered a houseboat to evade hordes of rapacious undead.
—
K. Thor Jensen,
PC Magazine,
1 May 2026
The notion that Related is a rapacious developer being handed a giveaway ignores the history.
—
Peter Peyser,
New York Daily News,
26 Apr. 2026
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
In fairness, rapacious male characters like Nate and Cal are cast in an even more negative, gender-essentialist light.
—
Judy Berman,
Time,
10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rapacious
K. Thor Jensen,
PC Magazine,
1 May 2026
The notion that Related is a rapacious developer being handed a giveaway ignores the history.
—
Peter Peyser,
New York Daily News,
26 Apr. 2026
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
In fairness, rapacious male characters like Nate and Cal are cast in an even more negative, gender-essentialist light.
—
Judy Berman,
Time,
10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rapacious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rapacious
Adjective
-
The Sudanese conflict has conscripted the neighboring countries who are selfishly courting either faction for resources or political standing, as well as greedy, exploitative foreign powers who repeatedly leverage religious and cultural tensions in the region, into the fight for profit.
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Next to him were Brad Lander, Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez, all left-leaning candidates running on a platform that includes abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and taking on bad landlords and greedy corporations.
Adjective
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At the same time, its flowers attract beneficial predatory insects, such as ladybugs and parasitic wasps, that naturally hunt harmful garden pests.
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Years of insurgency and predatory armed gangs have devastated northern Nigeria, displacing millions.
Adjective
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Three years later, Fox commands his dad's mercenary band against Andross.
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The decision was preceded by several decades of fervent debate and disagreement among practitioners; detractors argued that adding the disorder was reckless, if not mercenary.
Adjective
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San Francisco real estate agent Butch Haze of Compass has seen tech booms followed by ravenous bursts of homebuying since the first internet gold rush of the late 1990s.
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The reading drew a ravenous crowd packing the modestly sized Lower East Side storefront so tight that beads of sweat might as well have begun dripping from the walls.
Adjective
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Played by a Colman Domingo who is done up to look the most wax figurine of them all in a shellacking of makeup, prosthetics, and colored contacts, Joe is always either giving an avaricious open-mouthed leer or a cold-eyed glare.
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There’s a quasi-heist theme to The Christophers, which revolves around an acclaimed artist (McKellen), who has long since stopped making new work, and his avaricious children (Gunning and Corden) who try to enlist Coel to complete some of their dad’s unfinished paintings.
Adjective
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Now, the 49‑year‑old turns his attention to an NBA roster headlined by Flagg and a Mavericks team eager to return to championship contention.
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Some ships, eager to get out of harm’s the war’s way, may have their vessels towed tug their boats out of the strait before they’re cleaned.
Adjective
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All this acquisitive activity has turned the majority of physicians into employees rather than independent operators.
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Looking back on his 27 years with the bank, Gentry said the timing, loopholes, tax strategies and negotiations that gave the business its acquisitive edge were not because of dumb luck.
Cite this Entry
“Rapacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rapacious. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.
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