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as in predatory
living by killing and eating other animals rapacious mammals, such as coyotes, foxes, and bobcats

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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Synonym Chooser

How is the word rapacious different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of rapacious are gluttonous, ravenous, and voracious. While all these words mean "excessively greedy," rapacious often suggests excessive and utterly selfish acquisitiveness or avarice.

rapacious developers indifferent to environmental concerns

When can gluttonous be used instead of rapacious?

Although the words gluttonous and rapacious have much in common, gluttonous applies to one who delights in eating or acquiring things especially beyond the point of necessity or satiety.

an admiral who was gluttonous for glory

When could ravenous be used to replace rapacious?

The synonyms ravenous and rapacious are sometimes interchangeable, but ravenous implies excessive hunger and suggests violent or grasping methods of dealing with food or with whatever satisfies an appetite.

a nation with a ravenous lust for territorial expansion

When might voracious be a better fit than rapacious?

The meanings of voracious and rapacious largely overlap; however, voracious applies especially to habitual gorging with food or drink.

teenagers are often voracious eaters

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 That voter initiative in the early 20th century made the commission the primary protector of California’s families and businesses against rapacious or unsafe electric and gas utilities. Loretta Lynch, Mercury News, 29 Apr. 2025 Without a Yanukovych presidency, the Ukrainian government and armed forces might not have atrophied, and a rapacious kleptocracy might not have taken hold. Alexander Vindman, Foreign Affairs, 8 Aug. 2022 But providing that service shouldn’t require charging rapacious fees that exploit the most financially vulnerable. Jemima McEvoy, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025 Of abuse and coercion by rapacious family members eager to get their hands on an inheritance. Teri Sforza, Orange County Register, 25 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for rapacious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rapacious
Adjective
  • People often stereotype crypto investors as reckless, young, or greedy.
    Jennifer Jolly, USA Today, 18 June 2025
  • To be patient but not to be greedy, Lilian thought now, studying Maureen’s pale eyelids.
    Yiyun Li, New Yorker, 15 June 2025
Adjective
  • While hammerhead worms are not a direct threat to humans or household pets, their predatory nature can have a lasting effect on a local ecosystem.
    Greta Cross, USA Today, 14 June 2025
  • But last year, the New York State Court of Appeals overturned that conviction, saying the trial judge should have never allowed other women whose allegations were not included in the charges to testify against him and establish a pattern of predatory behavior.
    John Annese, New York Daily News, 12 June 2025
Adjective
  • Any spy or mercenary line of work comes at a massive cost.
    Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 19 June 2025
  • The two had admittedly a little too much fun making their new action comedy, which follows the lavish wedding of Betsy (Camp) and Ryan (Sam Huntington), which is crashed by a mercenary group that takes everyone hostage.
    EW.com, EW.com, 19 June 2025
Adjective
  • This is epic fantasy set in a big world with a mysterious past (as well as a ravenous fungal ghost plague!).
    Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 13 June 2025
  • But there’s also a ravenous demand for easy escapism.
    Katie Marie Davies, Christian Science Monitor, 11 June 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
  • Columbus has the most cap room in the league and is eager to add this summer.
    Pierre LeBrun, New York Times, 21 June 2025
  • The ballpark help seemed eager to please, and restrictions on seating and other areas were loose to unenforced.
    Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 21 June 2025
Adjective
  • Over its history OpenText has been an highly acquisitive company to build out its software stack.
    GuruFocus, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
  • Banijay has been among the most acquisitive independent TV makers of recent years, and now reportedly has its sights on ITV.
    Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 27 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Rapacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rapacious. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.

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