predatory
UK/ˈpɹɛdət(ə)ɹi//ˈpɹɛdəˌtɔɹi/
predatory adjective: of, or relating to a predator.
Adjective
predatory (comparative more predatory, superlative most predatory)
- Of, or relating to a predator.
- Harry Kane was back to his predatory best after struggling in the group stage, following up his goal against Germany by poking home a superb pass from Raheem Sterling after only four minutes.2021 July 3, Phil McNulty, “Ukraine 0-4 England”, in BBC Sport
- And while there are plenty of benches, there's little shelter from the wind (or predatory seagulls the size of dogs) out on the platforms.2024 November 13, Paul Bigland, “Much to admire... but pockets of neglect”, in RAIL, number 1022, page 49
- Living by preying on other living animals.
- The mark of his father’s early life was strong upon him and enhanced by months of association with beasts, from whom the imitative faculty of youth had absorbed a countless number of little mannerisms of the predatory creatures of the wild.1915 December 4 – 1916 January 8, Edgar Rice Burroughs, chapter IX, in The Son of Tarzan, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., published March 1917, →OCLC
- Synonyms:
- predaceous, predacious
- Exploiting or victimizing others for personal gain.
- predatory lending
- predatory inclusion
predatory meaning in Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam and Kannada
predatory in Tamil
- சூறையாடும் தன்மை, வேட்டையாடும்
predatory in Bengali
- শিকারি, অন্যকে শোষণ করে এমন
predatory in Malayalam
- carnivorous, predacious, hunting
- ഇര പിടിക്കുന്ന, ഹിംസ്രമായ, ഹിംസ്രജന്തു സ്വഭാവമുള്ള, മാംസഭക്ഷിയായ, വേട്ടയാടുന്ന, ജംഭക
- exploitative, wolfish, rapacious
- കൊള്ളയടിച്ചു ജീവിക്കുന്ന, ചൂഷണം ചെയ്യുന്ന, പരമാവധി ആദായമുണ്ടാക്കുന്ന, മുതലെടുക്കുന്ന, ബുഭുക്ഷുവായ, അത്യാഗ്രഹിയും കൗശലക്കാരനുമായ
predatory in Kannada
- ಇತರ ಪ್ರಾಣಿಗಳನ್ನು ಕೊಂದು ತಿನ್ನುವ, ಪರಭಕ್ಷಕ, ಕೊಳ್ಳೆ ಹೊಡೆಯುವ, ಲೂಟಿ ಮಾಡುವ, ದರೋಡೆ ಮಾಡುವ, ಲೂಟಿಕೋರ
More languagesFewer languages
- predatory in Persian
- درندگی darrandegi
Examples of predatory in a sentence
- They are more or less predatory, and are at present shepherded by the police and punished by the gaoler.1890, William Booth, chapter 7, in In Darkest England and the Way Out:
- Marriage and prostitution were two sides of one shield, the predatory man’s exploitation of the sex-pleasure.1905 April–October, Upton Sinclair, chapter XXXI, in The Jungle, New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 26 February 1906...
Synonyms of predatory
Forms of predatory
| comparative | more predatory |
|---|---|
| superlative | most predatory |
| alternative form (archaic) | prædatory |
Origin of predatory
Borrowed from Latin praedātōrius, equivalent to predator + -y.
Words formed from predatory
Phrases with predatory
Questions about predatory
- What does predatory mean?
- Predatory means of, or relating to a predator.
- What is predatory in Tamil?
- Predatory in Tamil is சூறையாடும் தன்மை, வேட்டையாடும். See Predatory meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use predatory in a sentence?
- They are more or less predatory, and are at present shepherded by the police and punished by the gaoler.
- What part of speech is predatory?
- Predatory is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce predatory?
- Predatory is pronounced /ˈpɹɛdət(ə)ɹi/ (UK).
Words near predatory in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: predatory (page history and authors); predatory (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); predatory (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); predatory (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); predatory (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-predatory.oga.
Cite this entry: “predatory.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/predatory. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.