Borrowed fromLatinpraedātōrius, equivalent topredator +-y.
predatory (comparativemorepredatory,superlativemostpredatory)
- Of, or relating to apredator.
2021 July 3, Phil McNulty, “Ukraine 0-4 England”, inBBC Sport[1]:Harry Kane was back to hispredatory best after struggling in the group stage, following up his goal against Germany by poking home a superb pass fromRaheem Sterling after only four minutes.
2024 November 13, Paul Bigland, “Much to admire... but pockets of neglect”, inRAIL, number1022, page49:And while there are plenty of benches, there's little shelter from the wind (orpredatory seagulls the size of dogs) out on the platforms.
- Living bypreying on otherlivinganimals.
- Synonyms:predaceous,predacious
1915 December 4 –1916 January 8, Edgar Rice Burroughs, chapter IX, inThe Son of Tarzan, Chicago, Ill.:A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., published March 1917,→OCLC: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 thepredatory creatures of the wild.
- (figuratively)Exploiting orvictimizing others forpersonalgain.
predatory inclusion
1890,William Booth, chapter 7, inIn Darkest England and the Way Out[2]:One very important section of the denizens of Darkest England are the criminals and the semi-criminals. They are more or lesspredatory, and are at present shepherded by the police and punished by the gaoler.
1905 April–October,Upton Sinclair, chapterXXXI, inThe Jungle, New York, N.Y.:Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1906 February 26,→OCLC:The purpose of government was the guarding of property-rights, the perpetuation of ancient force and modern fraud. Or was it marriage? Marriage and prostitution were two sides of one shield, thepredatory man’s exploitation of the sex-pleasure.
living by preying on other living animals
(figuratively) exploiting or victimizing others for personal gain
