Definition: rapaciousness
rapaciousness
n : extreme gluttony [syn: edacity, esurience, rapacity, voracity,
voraciousness]
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Rapacious \Rapa"cious\, a. [L. rapax, -acis, from rapere to seize and carry off, to snatch away. See Rapid.] 1. Given to plunder; disposed or accustomed to seize by violence; seizing by force. `` The downfall of the rapacious and licentious Knights Templar.'' --Motley. 2. Accustomed to seize food; subsisting on prey, or animals seized by violence; as, a tiger is a rapacious animal; a rapacious bird. 3. Avaricious; grasping; extortionate; also, greedy; ravenous; voracious; as, rapacious usurers; a rapacious appetite. [Thy Lord] redeem thee from Death's rapacious claim --Milton. Syn: Greedy; grasping; ravenous; voracious. -- Ra*pa"cious*ly, adv. -- Ra*pa"cious*ness, n.
