as in greed
an intense selfish desire for wealth or possessions
the rapacity of the Spanish conquistadors was such that they were undeterred by the very preposterousness of the legend of El Dorado
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Recent Examples of rapacity
The French—and, later, Anglo (Wilde, Beardsley, Rossetti)—attitude, mannered and morbid, was perhaps too Old World, at odds with our cheerful, Protestant rapacity.
—
Olivia Kan-Sperling,
Artforum,
2 May 2026
Unlike the specialized literary magazine and its informal cousin, the literary blog, the general-interest newspaper has a kind of noble rapacity, an encyclopedic ambition to wrap its arms around the whole of the world.
—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2026
Trump’s entire doctrine is naked rapacity, from Venezuela to hijacking the Kennedy Center to hideously remaking the White House in his own gaudy image.
—
Maureen Dowd,
Mercury News,
21 Jan. 2026
Olivia Kan-Sperling,
Artforum,
2 May 2026
Unlike the specialized literary magazine and its informal cousin, the literary blog, the general-interest newspaper has a kind of noble rapacity, an encyclopedic ambition to wrap its arms around the whole of the world.
—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2026
Trump’s entire doctrine is naked rapacity, from Venezuela to hijacking the Kennedy Center to hideously remaking the White House in his own gaudy image.
—
Maureen Dowd,
Mercury News,
21 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rapacity
greed
Noun
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Released at the tail end of Reaganomics, Carpenter’s most politically forward thriller now feels like a decoder ring for ’80s-era greed, detachment, complacency and ruthlessness.
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Does this show reveal more to me how the most vulnerable amongst us are suffering as a result of disinterest, apathy, greed?
Cite this Entry
“Rapacity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rapacity. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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