as in rapacious
living by killing and eating other animals
hawks are predatory and pose a danger to rabbits and other pets
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of predatory
Washington, having failed to convince Beijing to change its predatory economic policies or to move forward with an alternative trading bloc to counterbalance China, was left with one option: the United States had to become more like China.
—
Michael B. G. Froman, Foreign Affairs, 25 Mar. 2025
The agency protects consumers from more than just predatory mortgage loans, though.
—Samantha Delouya, CNN, 16 Mar. 2025
Abby from Weyauwega bore witness to those predatory instincts when her dog caught sight of a squirrel in her garden.
—Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Apr. 2025
Here are a few policy changes that could make a real difference:
Implementing a national usury cap on interest rates, including payday loans, would protect vulnerable borrowers from predatory lending practices.
—Aisha Nyandoro, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for predatory
Michael B. G. Froman, Foreign Affairs, 25 Mar. 2025
The agency protects consumers from more than just predatory mortgage loans, though.
—Samantha Delouya, CNN, 16 Mar. 2025
Abby from Weyauwega bore witness to those predatory instincts when her dog caught sight of a squirrel in her garden.
—Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Apr. 2025
Here are a few policy changes that could make a real difference:
Implementing a national usury cap on interest rates, including payday loans, would protect vulnerable borrowers from predatory lending practices.
—Aisha Nyandoro, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for predatory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for predatory
Adjective
-
Remmick is a monster, but his homeland was colonized by some of the same rapacious forces that brought the twins’ ancestors to America.—
Adam Serwer,
The Atlantic,
2 May 2025
-
That voter initiative in the early 20th century made the commission the primary protector of California’s families and businesses against rapacious or unsafe electric and gas utilities.—
Loretta Lynch,
Mercury News,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
But in recent weeks, Musk dramatically lowered his taxpayer savings estimates from DOGE's government cuts, disagreed publicly with Trump's aggressive tariff policies and butted heads with multiple Trump officials, some publicly, revealing divisions within the White House over Musk's influence.—
Joey Garrison,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2025
-
Moderate Republicans from swing districts are balking at deep cuts to social safety net programs, even as hardliners demand more aggressive reductions.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Biological control: Parasitic wasps, predaceous beetles and birds assist in lowering sawfly populations.—
Rita Perwich,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Apr. 2025
-
Look for and conserve natural enemies such as predaceous bugs, lacewings, lady beetles, and syrphids.—
The San Diego Union Tribune,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Villegas pushed for the original measure after dangerous speeding and red-light running by raptorial tow drivers ended in a nearly catastrophic crash in his ward that saw a bus that had been hit by a tow truck plow through a storefront.—
Jake Sheridan,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Apr. 2025
-
Detailed testimonies of refugees along the Balkan route therefore challenge the conventional wisdom that officials tend to protect them from raptorial smugglers.—
Max Abrahms,
Foreign Affairs,
22 Mar. 2017
Adjective
-
Hurricanes Beryl and Milton were also deadly, each killing more than 40 people in the United States.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
3 May 2025
-
Treatment and prognosis Glioblastoma is among the deadliest cancers, with patients living for an average of just over a year after diagnosis.—
Melissa Rudy,
FOXNews.com,
3 May 2025
Adjective
-
His father, the lawyer and judge John Marshall Clemens, had sunk the family’s money into land in Tennessee, and though the plan went nowhere, the impulse toward wild speculation seems to have imprinted on young Samuel Langhorne Clemens.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
9 May 2025
-
The conversation soon shifted to a wild admission related to cosmetic procedures.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
9 May 2025
Adjective
-
Children are being exposed to an unprecedented amount of online pornography, much of which is violent and misogynistic.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
2 May 2025
-
However, the Salvadoran national was living in the U.S. illegally and is suspected of being a member of the notoriously violent gang MS-13.—
Rachel Wolf,
FOXNews.com,
2 May 2025
Adjective
-
This ferocious, steep-banked corner possesses a wild 24% gradient, a nod to Spain’s bullfighting heritage.—
Kanzah Maktoum,
Forbes.com,
27 Apr. 2025
-
But this team was special, with a watertight defence combined with a ferocious forward line of Ronaldo (his best goalscoring season for United), Rooney and Tevez.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Predatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predatory. Accessed 12 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share