covetous
- covetous
- adjective
Date: 13th century
1. marked by inordinate desire for wealth or possessions or for another's possessions
2. having a craving for possession <
covetous of power
>
• covetously adverb
• covetousness noun
Synonyms:
covetous, greedy, acquisitive, grasping, avaricious mean having or showing a strong desire for especially material possessions. covetous implies inordinate desire often for another's possessions <covetous of his brother's
country estate
>. greedy stresses lack of restraint and often of discrimination in desire <greedy for status symbols
>. acquisitive implies both eagerness to possess and ability to acquire and keep <>. grasping adds to covetous and greedy an implication of selfishness and often suggests unfair or ruthless means <a hard grasping trader who cheated the natives
>. avaricious implies obsessive acquisitiveness especially of money and strongly suggests stinginess <an avaricious miser
>.
New Collegiate Dictionary.
2001.
:
Look at other dictionaries:
covetous — covetous, greedy, acquisitive, grasping, avaricious mean having or manifesting a strong desire for possessions, especially material possessions. Covetous implies inordinateness of desire; very often, with allusion to the Ten Commandments, it… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
Covetous — Cov et*ous (k?v ?t ?s), a. [OF. coveitos, F. convoiteux. See {Covet}, v. t.] 1. Very desirous; eager to obtain; used in a good sense. [Archaic] [1913 Webster] Covetous of wisdom and fair virtue. Shak. [1913 Webster] Covetous death bereaved us all … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
covetous — mid 13c., from O.Fr. coveitos (12c., Mod.Fr. convoiteux) desirous, covetous, from V.L. *cupiditosus, from L. cupiditas (see COVET (Cf. covet)). Related: Covetousness … Etymology dictionary
covetous — index eager, illiberal, insatiable, jealous, mercenary Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
covetous — [adj] greedy; very desirous acquisitive, avaricious, avid, close fisted, eager, ensurient, envious, gluttonous, grabby, grasping, green eyed*, grudging, hogging, itchy*, jealous, keen, mercenary, piggish*, prehensile, rapacious, ravenous, selfish … New thesaurus
covetous — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ longing to possess something. DERIVATIVES covetously adverb covetousness noun … English terms dictionary
covetous — [kuv′ət əs] adj. [ME coveitous < OFr] tending to covet; greedy; avaricious SYN. GREEDY covetously adv. covetousness n … English World dictionary
covetous — [[t]kʌ̱vɪtəs[/t]] ADJ GRADED (disapproval) A covetous person has a strong desire to possess something, especially something that belongs to another person. [FORMAL] Even here a red Lamborghini Diablo sports car attracts covetous stares … English dictionary
covetous — adj. covetous of * * * [ kʌvɪtəs] covetousof … Combinatory dictionary
covetous — cov|et|ous [ˈkʌvıtəs] adj formal having a very strong desire to have something that someone else has ▪ They began to cast covetous eyes on their neighbours fields. >covetously adv >covetousness n [U] … Dictionary of contemporary English
