avaricious

[ av-uh-rish-uhs ]
See synonyms for avaricious on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. characterized by avarice; greedy; covetous.

Origin of avaricious

1
late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; see origin at avarice, -ious

synonym study For avaricious

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.

Other words from avaricious

  • av·a·ri·cious·ly, adverb
  • av·a·ri·cious·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024