Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- Of or pertaining to a pirate or piracy; of the nature of piracy: as, piratical acts.
- Engaged in piracy, or robbery on the high seas: as, a piratical ship or commander.
- Pertaining to or practising literary piracy: as, piratical publishers.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Of or pertaining to a pirate; acquired by, or practicing, piracy.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective of, pertaining to, or similar to
pirates
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective characteristic of pirates
- adjective characteristic of piracy
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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Trick or Treat bonus links: Dubner wrote about Pirates earlier this month, during a lull in piratical activity.
Scarier Halloween Costume: A Pirate, or Kim Jong-il? - Freakonomics Blog - NYTimes.com 2007
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Trick or Treat bonus links: Dubner wrote about Pirates earlier this month, during a lull in piratical activity.
Scarier Halloween Costume: A Pirate, or Kim Jong-il? - Freakonomics Blog - NYTimes.com 2007
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Numbers found their way thither through the pathless wastes of Russia; others navigated the Mediterranean in their sea-serpents, as they termed their piratical vessels.
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He never did subdue the wild savages in New England, and he never was in any war in Africa, nor in Asia, unless we call his piratical cruising in the Mediterranean "wars in Asia."
The Complete Project Gutenberg Writings of Charles Dudley Warner Charles Dudley Warner 1864
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He never did subdue the wild savages in New England, and he never was in any war in Africa, nor in Asia, unless we call his piratical cruising in the Mediterranean "wars in Asia."
Captain John Smith Charles Dudley Warner 1864
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Mediterranean in their sea-serpents, as they termed their piratical vessels.
Waverley Novels — Volume 12 Walter Scott 1801
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Of course, the honours of the defeat of the Armada must always be shared with other naval experts who had acquired their knowledge of sea warfare in what is called the piratical line.
Drake Nelson and Napoleon Runciman, Walter 1919
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But we have had under the name of a Government what I have always described as a piratical joint-stock company, beginning with Lord Clive, and ending, as
Speeches on Questions of Public Policy, Volume 1 John Bright 1850
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They have no intention of establishing some kind of piratical caliphate.
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He threw himself into them with a kind of piratical ardour; took them by the throat, wallowed in them, worried them like a terrier, and finally assimilated them.
South Wind Norman Douglas 1910
madmouth commented on the word piratical
apologies for the length here, but no justice will allow the chopping up of such a passage:
"So have I seen a bird with clipped wing making affrighted broken circles in the air, vainly striving to escape the piratical hawks. But the bird has a voice, and with plaintive cries will make known her fear; but the fear of this vast dumb brute of the sea, was chained up and enchanted in him; he had no voice, save that choking respiration through his spiracle, and this made the sight of him unspeakably pitiable; while still, in his amazing bulk, portcullis jaw, and omnipotent tail, there was enough to appal the stoutest man who so pitied."
Moby-Dick, ch. 81
June 15, 2009