rapacious
/ɹəˈpeɪ.ʃəs/adjective
rapacious is spelled R-A-P-A-C-I-O-U-S: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 60,074th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, rapacious means “Voracious; avaricious” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in rapacious?
| Letters | 9: R-A-P-A-C-I-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 60,074th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is rapacious?
Rapacious appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 60,074th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce rapacious?
- US /ɹəˈpeɪ.ʃəs/
Rapacious has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-rapacious.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with rapacious?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as rapacious from its last stressed vowel (/eɪʃəs/):
- tenacious
- audacious
- herbaceous
- ostentatious
- efficacious
- sebaceous
- pugnacious
- loquacious
- perspicacious
- argillaceous
- contumacious
- pertinacious
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of rapacious
- more rapacious comparative
- most rapacious superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does rapacious mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Voracious; avaricious.
- 2
Given to taking by force or plundering; aggressively greedy.
- 3
Subsisting off live prey.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Rapacious in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | rapace |
| German | unersättlich, habgierig , raubgierig , Raub- |
| Portuguese | voraz |
| Spanish | codicioso , rapaz |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does rapacious come from?
Perhaps from rapacity + -ous, in any case ultimately from Latin rapāx (“grasping, greedy”) + -acious.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).