rapacious

/ɹəˈpeɪ.ʃəs/

//ɹəˈpeɪ.ʃəs// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"rapacious" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“rapacious” is uncommon English (frequency #60,407 among 3,094 “R” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#60,407
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Voracious; avaricious.

Corpus desk

Index EN-rapacious · rapacious · English

rapacious · rank #60,407 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #60,407
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH rangefinder

Nearest frequency peer: rangefinder (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “rapacious”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “rapacious” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for rapacious
PropertyValue
Headwordrapacious
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ɹəˈpeɪ.ʃəs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#60,407
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “rapacious” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).rapaciousfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “rangefinder” (#60,406), “Ravenswood” (#60,408), “ramada” (#60,405). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “rapacious” is #60,407. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

rapacious is uncommon English at frequency #60,407 among 3,094 “R” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ɹəˈpeɪ.ʃəs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for rapacious, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Perhaps from rapacity + -ous, in any case ultimately from Latin rapāx (“grasping, greedy”). The correct English form is rapacious, spelled R-A-P-A-C-I-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Voracious; avaricious.
  2. 2
    Given to taking by force or plundering; aggressively greedy.
  3. 3
    Subsisting off live prey.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how rapacious appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. To presume a want of motives for such contests [of power between states] as an argument against their existence, would be to forget that men are ambitious, vindictive, and rapacious.
  2. Relations between the Waveney Valley Railway and the E.C.R. [Eastern Counties Railway] soon became strained, because of the rapacious attitude adopted by the latter, and to the mismanagement which it displayed in working the smaller company's line.

Etymology

Perhaps from rapacity + -ous, in any case ultimately from Latin rapāx (“grasping, greedy”).

This word in other languages

codicioso(Español)rapace(Français)unersättlich(Deutsch)voraz(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "rapacious"?
"rapacious" is spelled R-A-P-A-C-I-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹəˈpeɪ.ʃəs/.
What does "rapacious" mean?
As an adjective, "rapacious" means: Voracious; avaricious.
How do you pronounce "rapacious"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rapacious" is /ɹəˈpeɪ.ʃəs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "rapacious"?
Perhaps from rapacity + -ous, in any case ultimately from Latin rapāx (“grasping, greedy”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "rapacious", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Rehnquist#60,414proboscis#60,396preheated#60,390Ridgewood#60,426

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list