Synonyms

rapacity

[ruh-pey-shuhs] Example Sentences Origin

ra·pa·cious

[ruh-pey-shuhs]
adjective
1.
given to seizing for plunder or the satisfaction of greed.
2.
inordinately greedy; predatory; extortionate: a rapacious disposition.
3.
(of animals) subsisting by the capture of living prey; predacious.

Origin:
1645–55; < Latin rapāci- (stem of rapāx greedy, akin to rapere to seize; see rape1) + -ous

ra·pa·cious·ly, adverb
ra·pac·i·ty [ruh-pas-i-tee] , ra·pa·cious·ness, noun
un·ra·pa·cious, adjective
un·ra·pa·cious·ly, adverb
un·ra·pa·cious·ness, noun


2. ravenous, voracious, grasping; preying. See avaricious.


2. generous.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Rapacity is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
Example Sentences
  • They make a success on the frontier anyway in whiskey distilling, but lose everything to a landlord of fabulous rapacity.
Collins
World English Dictionary
rapacious (rəˈpeɪʃəs)
 
adj
1.  practising pillage or rapine
2.  greedy or grasping
3.  (of animals, esp birds) subsisting by catching living prey
 
[C17: from Latin rapāx grasping, from rapere to seize]
 
ra'paciously
 
adv
 
rapacity
 
n
 
ra'paciousness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

rapacity
1540s, from M.Fr. rapacité (16c.), from L. rapacitatem (nom. rapacitas) "greediness," from rapax "grasping" (gen. rapacis) "plundering," from rapere "seize" (see rapid).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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