predacious
Also found in: Thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
pre·da·ceous
also pre·da·cious (prĭ-dā′shəs)adj.
1. Living by seizing or taking prey; predatory.
2. Given to victimizing, plundering, or destroying for one's own gain.
[From Latin praedārī, to plunder; see predatory.]
pre·dac′i·ty (-dăs′ĭ-tē) n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
predacious
(prɪˈdeɪʃəs) orpredaceous
adj
1. (Zoology) (of animals) habitually hunting and killing other animals for food
2. preying on others
[C18: from Latin praeda plunder; compare predatory]
preˈdaciousness, preˈdaceousness, predacity n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
pre•da•cious
(prɪˈdeɪ ʃəs)adj.
predatory; rapacious.
Also, esp. Biol.,pre•da′ceous.pre•da′cious•ness, pre•dac′i•ty (-ˈdæs ɪ ti) ; esp. Biol., pre•da′ceous•ness, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Adj. | 1. | predacious - hunting and killing other animals for food carnivorous - (used of plants as well as animals) feeding on animals; "carnivorous plants are capable of trapping and digesting small animals especially insects" |
| 2. | predacious - living by or given to victimizing others for personal gain; "predatory capitalists"; "a predatory, insensate society in which innocence and decency can prove fatal"- Peter S. Prescott; "a predacious kind of animal--the early geological gangster"- W.E.Swinton acquisitive - eager to acquire and possess things especially material possessions or ideas; "an acquisitive mind"; "an acquisitive society in which the craving for material things seems never satisfied" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.