rapacious

Advancedzipf 2.39

Pronunciation

/rəˈpeɪʃəs/(ruh-PAY-shus)

Part of speech

adjectiveformal

Chinese

贪婪的；掠夺性的

Definition

Aggressively greedy or grasping, especially for money or resources.

Word family

  • rapacity/rəˈpæsɪti/(n)贪婪
  • rapaciously/rəˈpeɪʃəsli/(adv)贪婪地

Collocations

  • rapacious greed
  • rapacious appetite
  • rapacious landlord
  • rapacious capitalism

Examples

  1. 1.The rapacious corporation stripped the land of its resources with no regard for the community. (aggressively greedy)
  2. 2.History remembers the rapacious colonial powers that plundered entire continents. (predatory extraction)

Synonyms

  • voracious/vəˈreɪʃəs/— insatiable appetite, can be neutral
  • avaricious/ˌævəˈrɪʃəs/— greedy for wealth
  • predatory/ˈprɛdətɔːri/— exploiting others

Etymology

from Latin "rapax" — from "rapere" (to seize) — same root as "rape," "raptor," and "rapid"