variants
or predacious
as in predatory
living by killing and eating other animals
the predaceous animals of the jungle, with the tiger at the top of the food chain
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Recent Examples of predaceous
These food-crops also benefit from the work performed by predaceous insects that control populations of crop-eating invertebrates.
—
Bruce Beehler,
Baltimore Sun,
17 Aug. 2025
Look for and conserve natural enemies such as predaceous bugs, lacewings, lady beetles, and syrphids.
—
The San Diego Union Tribune,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 Jan. 2025
These predaceous decisions have negatively affected the population of the last frontier and the families & communities of this great state.
—
Anchorage Daily News,
6 Aug. 2022
Various species of aquatic insects, such as the predaceous diving beetle, use bubbles for breathing underwater.
—
Elizabeth Gamillo,
Smithsonian Magazine,
27 May 2021
Early in the season, these mites are pollen feeders, then become predaceous as more prey develops, according to 2012 research at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio.
—
Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp,
Indianapolis Star,
15 June 2018
Bruce Beehler,
Baltimore Sun,
17 Aug. 2025
Look for and conserve natural enemies such as predaceous bugs, lacewings, lady beetles, and syrphids.
—
The San Diego Union Tribune,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 Jan. 2025
These predaceous decisions have negatively affected the population of the last frontier and the families & communities of this great state.
—
Anchorage Daily News,
6 Aug. 2022
Various species of aquatic insects, such as the predaceous diving beetle, use bubbles for breathing underwater.
—
Elizabeth Gamillo,
Smithsonian Magazine,
27 May 2021
Early in the season, these mites are pollen feeders, then become predaceous as more prey develops, according to 2012 research at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio.
—
Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp,
Indianapolis Star,
15 June 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for predaceous
predatory
Adjective
-
At the same time, its flowers attract beneficial predatory insects, such as ladybugs and parasitic wasps, that naturally hunt harmful garden pests.
-
Years of insurgency and predatory armed gangs have devastated northern Nigeria, displacing millions.
Cite this Entry
“Predaceous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predaceous. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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