voracious

voracious
adjective Etymology: Latin vorac-, vorax, from vorare to devour; akin to Old English ācweorran to guzzle, Latin gurges whirlpool, Greek bibrōskein to devour Date: 1635 1. having a huge appetite ; ravenous 2. excessively eager ; insatiable <
a voracious reader
>
voraciously adverbvoraciousness noun Synonyms: voracious, gluttonous, ravenous, rapacious mean excessively greedy. voracious applies especially to habitual gorging with food or drink <
teenagers are often voracious eaters
>
. gluttonous applies to one who delights in eating or acquiring things especially beyond the point of necessity or satiety <
an admiral who was gluttonous for glory
>
. ravenous implies excessive hunger and suggests violent or grasping methods of dealing with food or with whatever satisfies an appetite <
a nation with a ravenous lust for territorial expansion
>
. rapacious often suggests excessive and utterly selfish acquisitiveness or avarice <
rapacious developers indifferent to environmental concerns
>
.

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • voracious — voracious, gluttonous, ravenous, ravening, rapacious can all mean excessively greedy and can all apply to persons, their appetites and reactions, or their behavior. Voracious implies habitual gorging with food or drink, or with whatever satisfies …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Voracious — Vo*ra cious, a. [L. vorax, acis, fr. vorare to devour; akin to Gr. ? meat, food, ? to devour, Skr. gar. Cf. {Devour}.] Greedy in eating; very hungry; eager to devour or swallow; ravenous; gluttonous; edacious; rapacious; as, a voracious man or… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • voracious — ► ADJECTIVE 1) wanting or devouring great quantities of food. 2) eagerly consuming something: his voracious reading of literature. DERIVATIVES voraciously adverb voracity noun. ORIGIN from Latin vorax, from vorare devour …   English terms dictionary

  • voracious — [vô rā′shəs, vərā′shəs] adj. [L vorax (gen. voracis), greedy to devour < vorare, to devour < IE base * gwer , to devour, GORGE > Gr bora, food (of carnivorous beasts), L gurges, gorge] 1. greedy in eating; devouring or eager to devour… …   English World dictionary

  • voracious — index eager, gluttonous, predatory, rapacious Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • voracious — 1630s, formed as an adjectival form of VORACITY (Cf. voracity) …   Etymology dictionary

  • voracious — [adj] very hungry, greedy avid, covetous, devouring, dog hungry*, edacious, empty, gluttonous, gorging, grasping, gross, insatiable, omnivorous, piggy*, prodigious, rapacious, ravening, ravenous, sating, starved, starved to death*, starving,… …   New thesaurus

  • voracious — vo|ra|cious [vəˈreıʃəs, vɔ US vo: , və ] adj [Date: 1600 1700; : Latin; Origin: vorax, from vorare; DEVOUR] 1.) eating or wanting large quantities of food ▪ Pigs are voracious feeders. ▪ Kids can have voracious appetites . 2.) having an extremely …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • voracious — vo|ra|cious [ və reıʃəs ] adjective FORMAL 1. ) a voracious person or animal eats a large amount of food 2. ) very eager to learn or to do something: a voracious appetite for something: She has always had a voracious appetite for reading. 3. )… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • voracious — adjective 1 eating or wanting large quantities of food: Pigs are voracious feeders. | a voracious appetite: Kids can have voracious appetites. 2 extremely eager to read books, gain knowledge etc: a voracious reader voraciously adverb… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

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