predacious

[ pri-dey-shuhs ]

adjective

1. predatory; rapacious.

predacious

/ prɪˈdeɪʃəs; prɪˈdæsɪtɪ /

adjective

1. (of animals) habitually hunting and killing other animals for food
2. preying on others

Derived Forms

• preˈdaciousness, noun

Other Words From

• pre·dacious·ness pre·dac·i·ty [pri-, das, -i-tee]; especially Biology, pre·daceous·ness noun
• unpre·daceous adjective
• unpre·daceous·ly adverb
• unpre·daceous·ness noun
• unpre·dacious adjective
• unpre·dacious·ly adverb
• unpre·dacious·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of predacious¹

First recorded in 1705–15; pred(atory) + -acious

Word History and Origins

Origin of predacious¹

C18: from Latin praeda plunder; compare predatory

Example Sentences

The picture tells the story of a young woman, Danae, who’s been locked in a high tower by her father to keep her away from predacious men.

From New York Times

She feels shut out by the city’s predacious, moneyed tribes, battered by its “impenetrable shapes” and “fierce elbows.”

From New York Times

They’re predacious, eating whatever they can get their grubby hands on.

From Washington Times

Now, four days later, Nukita warned us that a similarly predacious swarm of print and television reporters lay in wait for us in Kathmandu.

From Literature

Metastasis therefore requires the untethering of these bonds, to allow predacious cancer cells to migrate freely.

From Scientific American

Related Words

• greedy
• marauding
• rapacious
• voracious