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
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 rapacious
In a very short period of time, Trump had decided to go back in time to roughly 100 years ago when Europe meant nothing to us other than rapacious capitalists and communists all out to get us and drag us in to their nefarious ways.
—
Jim Cramer, CNBC, 27 May 2025
His class anxieties are a through line in the novel, as revealed in his constant conflict with Hooper, who is rapacious and sleazy.
—Tyler Austin Harper, The Atlantic, 26 June 2025
But Pulisic and the other first-choice players missing from the Gold Cup roster were put in a bad position by a global soccer environment with a rapacious appetite for matches — or rather a rapacious appetite for the money those matches produce.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2025
In recent years, the rise of even less scrupulous and more rapacious influencer commentariat, with enormous YouTube and social followings, has further escalated the pressures celebrities face.
—Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rapacious
Jim Cramer, CNBC, 27 May 2025
His class anxieties are a through line in the novel, as revealed in his constant conflict with Hooper, who is rapacious and sleazy.
—Tyler Austin Harper, The Atlantic, 26 June 2025
But Pulisic and the other first-choice players missing from the Gold Cup roster were put in a bad position by a global soccer environment with a rapacious appetite for matches — or rather a rapacious appetite for the money those matches produce.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2025
In recent years, the rise of even less scrupulous and more rapacious influencer commentariat, with enormous YouTube and social followings, has further escalated the pressures celebrities face.
—Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rapacious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rapacious
Adjective
-
Though one is a human innovation and the other hails from a distant world, neither would’ve posed a danger had greedy tech barons not released them from the Pandora’s box of scientific progress.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
5 Aug. 2025
-
O’ahu, Maui, Kaua’i and the big island of Hawai’i were all joined by water but divided by greedy men, cunning chiefs and a cycle of endless combat.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
When customers trust you enough to consolidate their financial lives, expanding into credit becomes natural evolution, not predatory behavior.—
Boaz Sobrado,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
-
Heirs property also leaves families vulnerable to predatory investors who force partition sales, tax and mortgage defaults, and ultimately, homeownership loss.—
Marco Villegas,
New York Daily News,
11 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
When confronting the failures of corporate medicine, reversing the disastrous course of the mercenary business model built on the suffering of Americans requires a revolutionary approach.—
David Marks,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 Aug. 2025
-
In June 2023, Lukashenko presented himself as a peacemaker for helping to end an armed rebellion against Russian military generals led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the mercenary group Wagner.—
Amalia Huot-Marchand,
The Hill,
8 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The parasite exploits any open wound or orifice on a wide range of warm-blooded animals to feed its ravenous spawn.—
Beth Mole,
ArsTechnica,
8 Aug. 2025
-
The first film offered only a taste of the vibrant culture and history of Wakanda, and audiences seemed ravenous for more.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
31 July 2025
Adjective
-
The comedy-drama follows a Gen Z content creator who returns to her ancestral home seeking viral material, only to encounter her deceased brother’s ghost while dealing with avaricious relatives.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
14 Apr. 2025
-
This nation state, my home, is built on a quagmire of lies sold to the young as truths; sold to the insecure as truths; sold by the avaricious, the power-hungry, the conceited, the overwhelmingly white and male.—
Christine Winter,
Artforum,
1 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
After the first four episodes of the show’s new installment were released on Wednesday, Aug. 6, fans were eager to see the singer, 39, in her guest starring role.—
Liza Esquibias,
People.com,
6 Aug. 2025
-
It’s created a new market opportunity for brands eager to peddle protein-forward products to this growing demographic.—
Boutayna Chokrane,
Wired News,
6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
While Waze once again doesn’t charge anyone for usage and directions, how people use it along with when and where people go with it is surely valuable to businesses eager to meet and lead the needs of an acquisitive public.—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
24 July 2025
-
The competitive battle for smaller players continued into the early 1960s until antitrust laws curtailed the acquisitive sprees.—
Vicki M. Young,
Footwear News,
3 Sep. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Rapacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rapacious. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share