First Known Use: 1635
Dictionary
voracious
adjective vo·ra·cious \vȯ-ˈrā-shəs, və-\
: having or showing a tendency to eat very large amounts of food
Full Definition of VORACIOUS
1
: having a huge appetite : ravenous
2
: excessively eager : insatiable <a voracious reader>
— vo·ra·cious·ly adverb
— vo·ra·cious·ness noun
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Origin of VORACIOUS
Latin vorac-, vorax, from vorare to devour; akin to Old English ācweorran to guzzle, Latin gurges whirlpool, Greek bibrōskein to devour
Related to VORACIOUS
- Antonyms
- apathetic, indifferent, uneager, unenthusiastic
Synonym Discussion of VORACIOUS
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>.
Rhymes with VORACIOUS
audacious, bodacious, capacious, cetaceous, crustaceous, curvaceous, drupaceous, edacious, fallacious, flirtatious, fugacious, hellacious, herbaceous, loquacious, mendacious, micaceous, pomaceous, predaceous, pugnacious, rapacious, rosaceous, sagacious, salacious, sebaceous, sequacious, setaceous, tenacious, testaceous, tufaceous, ungracious, veracious, vinaceous
VORACIOUS Defined for Kids
voracious
adjective vo·ra·cious \vȯ-ˈrā-shəs, və-\
Definition of VORACIOUS for Kids
1
: very hungry : having a huge appetite
2
: very eager <a voracious reader>
— vo·ra·cious·ly adverb
Word Root of VORACIOUS
The Latin word vorāre, meaning “to eat greedily,” gives us the root vor. Words from the Latin vorāre have something to do with eating. An herbivorous animal eats only plants. A carnivorous animal eats only other animals. To devour is to eat up greedily. Anyone voracious likes to eat a lot.
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