rapacious

adjective

ra·​pa·​cious rə-ˈpā-shəs 

1

: excessively grasping or covetous

2

: living on prey

3

: ravenous

a rapacious appetite

rapaciously adverb

rapaciousness noun

Synonyms

• edacious
• esurient
• gluttonous
• greedy
• hoggish
• piggish
• ravenous
• swinish
• voracious

Choose the Right Synonym for rapacious

voracious, gluttonous, ravenous, rapacious mean excessively greedy.

voracious applies especially to habitual gorging with food or drink.

teenagers are often voracious eaters

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

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

rapacious often suggests excessive and utterly selfish acquisitiveness or avarice.

rapacious developers indifferent to environmental concerns

Examples of rapacious in a Sentence

nothing livens things up like a whole team of rapacious basketball players descending upon the pizza parlor

rapacious mammals, such as coyotes, foxes, and bobcats

Recent Examples on the Web

The rapacious killers can wipe out an entire bee colony within hours. —Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Dec. 2024

But this particular fight was not actually about putting the interests of patients against those of rapacious corporations. —Eric Levitz, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018

The archetypal Russia is a malign autocracy, the archetypal United States a rapacious hegemon. —Michael Kimmage, Foreign Affairs, 25 Jan. 2024

Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, has argued that the war with Ukraine is really a war with a rapacious NATO out to destroy Russia. —Maria Snegovaya, Foreign Affairs, 25 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin rapāc-, rapāx "given to seizing or catching things (as prey), carrying away, excessively grasping" (from rapere "to seize and carry off" + -āc-, -āx, deverbal suffix denoting habitual or successful performance) + -ious — more at rapid entry 1, audacious

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

rapacious

adjective

ra·​pa·​cious rə-ˈpā-shəs 

1

: very greedy

2

: predatory sense 2

rapaciously adverb

rapaciousness noun