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