Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

avariciousness

 - 2 dictionary results

av⋅a⋅ri⋅cious

[av-uh-rish-uhs]
–adjective
characterized by avarice; greedy; covetous.

Origin:
1425–75; late ME; see avarice, -ious


av⋅a⋅ri⋅cious⋅ly, adverb
av⋅a⋅ri⋅cious⋅ness, noun


Avaricious, covetous, greedy, rapacious share the sense of desiring to possess more of something than one already has or might in normal circumstances be entitled to. Avaricious often implies a pathological, driven greediness for money or other valuables and usually suggests a concomitant miserliness: the cheerless dwelling of an avaricious usurer. Covetous implies a powerful and usually illicit desire for the property or possessions of another: The book collector was openly covetous of my rare first edition. Greedy, the most general of these terms, suggests a naked and uncontrolled desire for almost anything—food and drink, money, emotional gratification: embarrassingly greedy for praise. Rapacious, stronger and more assertive than the other terms, implies an aggressive, predatory, insatiable, and unprincipled desire for possessions and power: a rapacious frequenter of tax sales and forced auctions.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To avariciousness
av·a·ri·cious   (āv'ə-rĭsh'əs)   
adj.  Immoderately desirous of wealth or gain; greedy.
av'a·ri'cious·ly adv., av'a·ri'cious·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see avariciousness on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: