rapacity
/rə'peiʃəsnis/ Cách viết khác : (rapacity) /rə'pæsiti/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- Reprehensible acquisitiveness; insatiable desire for wealth: The quality of being excessively greedy, especially for money or material gain, often to the point of being morally wrong.
- Extreme gluttony; voraciousness: An insatiable greed for food or consumption.
Usage
- The word "rapacity" describes a deep, often ruthless, greed. It is a formal term used to criticize extreme and selfish desire.
- It is typically used in contexts discussing moral failings, economics, or critiques of behavior.
Examples
- The dictator's rapacity for his nation's resources left the people in poverty.
- The rapacity of the corporation, seeking ever-higher profits, ignored environmental damage.
- In the fable, the wolf's rapacity knew no bounds.
Advanced Usage
- "The rapacity of the age": A phrase used to criticize the prevailing greed of a particular historical period.
- Historians often write about the rapacity of the Gilded Age.
- Used in a personified or metaphorical sense (e.g., as a deadly sin or a monstrous force).
- He saw rapacity as the true enemy of a just society.
Variants and Related Words
- Rapacious (adj): Having or showing a rapacious nature.
- The rapacious landlord raised rents mercilessly.
- Rapaciousness (n): A synonym for rapacity, meaning the quality of being rapacious.
Synonyms
- Greed: A strong desire for more wealth or possessions than one needs.
- Avarice: Extreme greed for wealth or material gain.
- Voracity: Excessive eagerness or greed in consuming, especially food.
- Cupidity: Greed for money or possessions.
Antonyms
- Generosity: The quality of being kind and generous.
- Altruism: Selfless concern for the well-being of others.
- Contentment: A state of happiness and satisfaction.
Idioms and Phrases
- "Driven by rapacity": Motivated by extreme greed.
- The invasion was driven by rapacity, not ideology.
- "The jaws of rapacity": A metaphorical phrase describing the destructive, consuming nature of greed.
- The small business fell into the jaws of corporate rapacity.
Noun
- reprehensible acquisitiveness; insatiable desire for wealth (personified as one of the deadly sins)
- extreme gluttony