Log in or Sign up
predatory love

predatory

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Living or characterized by preying on other animals.
  • adjective Living or characterized by plundering, pillaging, or marauding.
  • adjective Living or characterized by the exploitation of others for personal gain.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Plundering; pillaging; living by rapine or preying.
  • Characterized by rapine; spent in plundering; devoted to pillaging.
  • In zoology, habitually preying upon other animals; carnivorous or insectivorous, as a mammal; rapacious or raptorial, as a bird; adephagous, as an insect.
  • Hungry; ravenous.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Characterized by plundering; practicing rapine; plundering; pillaging
  • adjective obsolete Hungry; ravenous.
  • adjective (Zoöl.) Living by preying upon other animals; carnivorous.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Of, or relating to a predator.
  • adjective Living by preying on other living animals.
  • adjective figuratively Exploiting or victimizing others for personal gain.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective characterized by plundering or pillaging or marauding
  • adjective living by preying on other animals especially by catching living prey
  • adjective living by or given to victimizing others for personal gain

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin praedātōrius, plundering, from praedārī, to plunder, from praeda, booty; see ghend- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin praedatorius.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word predatory.

Examples

  • At the Foundation, we have coined the term "predatory proselytization" to describe the tactics of many of these groups, where vulnerable populations read poorest of the poor are targeted for conversion through coercive means such as access to jobs, health care or education -- access, of course, depending on accepting as Savior the "right God."

    Suhag A. Shukla, Esq.: Fix The U.S. International Religious Freedom Commission or Fuggedaboutit Esq. Suhag A. Shukla 2011

  • At the Foundation, we have coined the term "predatory proselytization" to describe the tactics of many of these groups, where vulnerable populations read poorest of the poor are targeted for conversion through coercive means such as access to jobs, health care or education -- access, of course, depending on accepting as Savior the "right God."

    Suhag A. Shukla, Esq.: Fix The U.S. International Religious Freedom Commission or Fuggedaboutit Esq. Suhag A. Shukla 2011

  • SEGARS: Well, that ` s-- actually you use the term predatory, and that is absolutely what happened.

    CNN Transcript Jan 8, 2008 2008

  • Meanwhile, a prominent group opposed to what it calls "predatory" gambling says colleges would be wise to look this gift horse in the mouth.

    Charity adressing campus gambling seems risky to some 2011

  • COLLINS: Lawmakers are threatening possible legislation to stop what they call predatory practices by credit cards.

    CNN Transcript Mar 8, 2007 2007

  • Some consumer advocates say these rising living costs have coincided with what they describe as predatory lending practices by credit companies.

    Plastic Predicament 2007

  • The attorney working with Ferguson (ph) says it's not just the mortgage brokers who are at fault for what he calls predatory lending.

    CNN Transcript Mar 24, 2007 2007

  • COLLINS: Lawmakers are threatening possible legislation to stop what they call predatory practices by credit cards.

    CNN Transcript Mar 8, 2007 2007

  • The proper reply to this legislation which we describe as predatory in the sense that we describe the benevolent habits of Robin Hood as predatory, cannot be made by the official opposition which was itself the first to step on the down grade, and which only waits the chances of party warfare to take its turn in providing _panem et circenses_ at the charge of the public exchequer.

    The Cult of Incompetence ��mile Faguet 1881

  • According to the lawsuit, Carpenter had marched with other demonstrators to the bank to close her account to protest what they call predatory lending and unfair banking fees.

    Reuters: Press Release 2011

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.