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

Black holes are often depicted as rapacious, inescapable gobblers, but occasionally, these messy eaters can spew material, too. —Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Sep. 2024

A lot of claims were made then about how when everything shook out, music and musicians would be better off without the filter of the rapacious music industry. —Mark Gimein, theweek, 13 Aug. 2024

In his Philippics, a series of vitriolic speeches lambasting Antony, Cicero cast Fulvia as a bloodthirsty and rapacious villainess. —Daisy Dunn, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 July 2024

Our hunger, since the Second World War, has become rapacious. —Katherine Rundell, The New Yorker, 29 July 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