rapacious
1
8.9
- adjective
- /rəˈpeɪʃəs/
:
voraz
- After running the marathon, she had a rapacious hunger and devoured a large pizza.
- a rapacious appetite
- a rapacious hunger
Examples
-
And they're rapacious eaters.
Academic text (2001) -
While Rachel and Linda McGuirk nod empathetically, I imagine that Gene and I are crouching outside their circle, hulking, rapacious, mouth-breathing, and hairy-backed.
Fiction book (1996) -
When Europeans came to this land it was with... such a rapacious appetite it still has not been sated.
-
They got tired of trying to satisfy rapacious felines such as yourself.
Fiction book (1999) -
And trying to curb the rapacious appetites of politicians with a tax hike is akin to trying to ...
Blog text (11) -
This emphasis is in keeping with the general opinion that the animal's cruel, ravenous, and rapacious character is embodied in its fangs.
Academic text (1996) -
Theologically speaking, this earth-centered doctrine of the Spirit is the best grounds for hope and renewal at a point in human history when our rapacious appetites seem destined to destroy the planet.
Academic text (2000) -
Some kissed his cheek, some only touched his hand, some begged for a blessing of dead Benedict's fragile corpse, others stared at the little body with the relic-hunter's rapacious hunger, biding time and opportunity.
Fiction book (2000) -
The rapacious wolf chased after the herd, eager for a meal.
-
The rapacious seagulls swooped down, ready to snatch the food from unsuspecting beachgoers.
Synonyms
39
7.5
Always wanting more and never feeling satisfied
19
7.5
Having a very large hunger for food or learning
18
6.0
Feeling very hungry and eager to eat
3
7.2
Someone who always eats or drinks too much
1
9.1
A person who takes more than others, especially food, in a greedy, rude way
Eating large amounts of food
Being very hungry and wanting to eat a lot
Very hungry or greedy and acting in a violent way to take what others have
Wanting something very strongly
Very hungry and wanting a lot of food or money
Wanting far more than is fair or reasonable
Antonyms
Compounds
How Hungry
Surface Forms
Morphology
rapacious = rapac + ious
The form is Latinate (root not an independent English word); learners cannot reliably infer the sense 'insatiable appetite' from English morphemes alone.
Etymology
Rapacious comes from the Latin root rapere, which means 'to snatch' or 'to grab'. So when we call an appetite rapacious we imagine someone quickly snatching and devouring food, which explains the meaning of having a huge, hungry appetite.