Word of the Day: Rapacious
rapacious
ra-pa-cious / rə-pā-shəs
adjective
1. extremely greedy
To presume a want of motives for such contests . . . would be to forget that men are ambitious, vindictive, and rapacious.
From “The Federalist Papers” by Alexander Hamilton, 1757 – 1804
2. of animals, surviving through the killing of prey; predatory
The rapacious coyotes and buzzards had finished their gruesome work, and the sun had bleached these bones white as snow.
From “From Out the Dark Shadows” by Maud Kenyon Kingdon, ? – ?
3. inclined to forcefully take what is wanted
I will say this much for the nobility: that, tyrannical, murderous, rapacious, and morally rotten as they were, they were deeply and enthusiastically religious.
From “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” by Mark Twain, 1835 – 1910