as in rapacious
living by killing and eating other animals hawks are predatory and pose a danger to rabbits and other pets

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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 Back in 2050, on Earth, he and his best friend Timo (Steven Yeun) land in hot water with a predatory loan shark. Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 8 Mar. 2025 Listen to this article The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to extend protections against predatory price gouging and unlawful evictions for disaster victims. Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Mar. 2025 One expendable named Mickey (Robert Pattinson) is part of a mission to colonize a distant planet, under the authority of a sleazily predatory and demagogic politician, Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo). Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2025 Join 1 other in the comments View Comments A predatory gastropod named Turridrupa magnifica was another remarkable find. Katie Hunt, CNN, 11 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for predatory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for predatory
Adjective
  • But providing that service shouldn’t require charging rapacious fees that exploit the most financially vulnerable.
    Jemima McEvoy, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025
  • Of abuse and coercion by rapacious family members eager to get their hands on an inheritance.
    Teri Sforza, Orange County Register, 25 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The prison has become a symbol of Bukele's aggressive policies that have targeted gang violence.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2025
  • Young has struggled against the Heat’s aggressive defense in recent years.
    Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 17 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
  • 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
  • Damsel bugs are slender and tan-colored and have slightly raptorial front legs.
    Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 July 2023
Adjective
  • The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating what led to the deadly incident.
    Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 10 Apr. 2025
  • Law enforcement respond to a deadly shooting at a town house complex in Spotsylvania County, Va., on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
    CBS News, CBS News, 9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • This behavior mimics their wild ancestors, who would ambush prey from above or perch in trees to avoid danger.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Apr. 2025
  • Monday night’s draft commences the 2025 WNBA campaign, which comes on the heels of an all-time wild offseason.
    Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Third, the violent reaction in financial markets that followed Mr. Trump's latest tariff salvo could persuade him to change course.
    Alain Sherter, CBS News, 9 Apr. 2025
  • Adams said the pair had discussed how to combat violent migrant gangs and embedding more New York Police Department officers into federal task forces.
    Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Severe thunderstorms will roar to life by the late afternoon in the Mississippi Valley, become more ferocious and pound potentially more than 900 miles of the region – from Louisiana to Minnesota – through the overnight hours.
    Mary Gilbert, CNN, 13 Mar. 2025
  • Ferran’s ragged butterfly Blanche looks at first glance as if she might be blown to smithereens with one gust of Stanley’s ferocious lung power.
    Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Predatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predatory. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.

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