Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

voracious

 - 3 dictionary results

vo⋅ra⋅cious

[vaw-rey-shuhs, voh-, vuh-]
–adjective
1. craving or consuming large quantities of food: a voracious appetite.
2. exceedingly eager or avid: voracious readers; a voracious collector.

Origin:
1625–35; voraci(ty) + -ous


vo⋅ra⋅cious⋅ly, adverb
vo⋅ra⋅cious⋅ness, noun


1. See ravenous. 2. rapacious, insatiable.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To voracious
vo·ra·cious   (vô-rā'shəs, və-)   
adj.  
  1. Consuming or eager to consume great amounts of food; ravenous.

  2. Having or marked by an insatiable appetite for an activity or pursuit; greedy: a voracious reader.


[From Latin vorāx, vorāc-, from vorāre, to swallow, devour.]
vo·ra'cious·ly adv., vo·rac'i·ty (-rās'ĭ-tē), vo·ra'cious·ness (-rā'shəs-nĭs) n.
Synonyms: These adjectives mean having or marked by boundless greed: a voracious reader of history; a gluttonous consumer of fine foods; a rapacious acquirer of competing businesses; a politician ravenous for power.
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
Word Origin & History

voracious 
1635, formed as an adj. form of voracity (1526), from M.Fr. voracité, from L. voracitatem (nom. voracitas) "greediness, ravenousness," from vorax (gen. voracis) "greedy," from vorare "to devour," from PIE base *gwer- "to swallow, devour" (cf. Skt. girati "he swallows," garah "drink;" Gk. bora "food;" Lith. geriu "to drink;" O.C.S. ziro "to swallow," grulo "gullet").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see voracious on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: