ravenous
Use ravenous in a sentence
ə adjective
1.
extremely hungry; famished; voracious: feeling ravenous after a hard day's work.
2.
extremely rapacious: a ravenous jungle beast.
3.
intensely eager for gratification or satisfaction.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English < Old French ravineus, equivalent to ravin(er) to raven2 + -eus -ous
1350–1400; Middle English < Old French ravineus, equivalent to ravin(er) to raven2 + -eus -ous
Related forms
rav·en·ous·ly, adverb
rav·en·ous·ness, noun
Synonyms
1. greedy, starved, devouring. Ravenous, ravening, voracious suggest a greediness for food and usually intense hunger. Ravenous implies extreme hunger, or a famished condition: ravenous wild beasts. Ravening adds the idea of fierceness and savagery, especially as shown in a violent manner of acquiring food: ravening wolves. Voracious implies craving or eating a great deal of food: a voracious child; a voracious appetite. It may also be used figuratively: a voracious reader. 2. predatory.
1. greedy, starved, devouring. Ravenous, ravening, voracious suggest a greediness for food and usually intense hunger. Ravenous implies extreme hunger, or a famished condition: ravenous wild beasts. Ravening adds the idea of fierceness and savagery, especially as shown in a violent manner of acquiring food: ravening wolves. Voracious implies craving or eating a great deal of food: a voracious child; a voracious appetite. It may also be used figuratively: a voracious reader. 2. predatory.
Antonyms
1. sated.
1. sated.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To ravenous
00:10
ravenous
is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
ravenous (ˈrævənəs) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | famished; starving |
| 2. | rapacious; voracious |
| [C16: from Old French ravineux, from Latin rapīna plunder, from rapere to seize] | |
| 'ravenously | |
| —adv | |
| 'ravenousness | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
ravenous
1412, "obsessed with plundering, extremely greedy," from O.Fr. ravinos "rapacious, violent," from raviner "to seize," from ravine "violent rush, robbery" (see ravine). Meaning "voracious, very hungry" is from c.1430.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The media attention was ravenous, the verdict instant and unanimous.
Dressed in their new shells, the lobsters are ravenous, and now millions of them meet the minimum carapace length for capture.
Fearing the loss of food needed for survival, the settlers fought the ravenous insects by every possible means.
Eighty-percent of all bites to humans comes from this ravenous pinhead-sized nymph.
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