acquisitive

adjective

ac·​quis·​i·​tive ə-ˈkwi-zə-tiv 

: strongly desirous of acquiring and possessing

acquisitively adverb

acquisitiveness noun

Did you know?

While acquisitive is a useful synonym of the likes of greedy and avaricious, it's relatively unknown compared to its more popular lexical relations, acquire and acquisition. The former of that pair is most often used to mean "to get as one's own," as in "skills acquired through practice"; the latter refers either to the act of acquiring something, as in "the acquisition of skills," or to something or someone acquired or gained, as in "the museum's recent acquisitions." All three have as their ultimate source the Latin word acquīrere, meaning "to acquire." While acquire and acquisition have both been in use since the 15th century, acquisitive is a bit younger. The word has a somewhat rare use meaning "capable of acquiring" that dates to the late 16th century, but its "greedy" meaning dates only to the early 19th century.

Synonyms

• avaricious
• avid
• coveting
• covetous
• grabby
• grasping
• greedy
• mercenary
• moneygrubbing
• rapacious

Choose the Right Synonym for acquisitive

covetous, greedy, acquisitive, grasping, avaricious mean having or showing a strong desire for especially material possessions.

covetous implies inordinate desire often for another's possessions.

covetous of his brother's country estate

greedy stresses lack of restraint and often of discrimination in desire.

greedy for status symbols

acquisitive implies both eagerness to possess and ability to acquire and keep.

an eagerly acquisitive mind

grasping adds to covetous and greedy an implication of selfishness and often suggests unfair or ruthless means.

a hard grasping businesswoman who cheated her associates

avaricious implies obsessive acquisitiveness especially of money and strongly suggests stinginess.

an avaricious miser

Examples of acquisitive in a Sentence

acquisitive developers are trying to tear down the historic home and build a shopping mall

Recent Examples on the Web

Allen Media Group has been acquisitive over the past six years. —William Earl, Variety, 4 Sep. 2024

From the 1910s through the 1940s, the maharajas were an obsessively acquisitive clan of car geeks, ordering Bentleys and Rollses by the boatload for their private caches. —Christopher Bagley, Robb Report, 10 Aug. 2024

The book-to-TV market remains red hot, with Heyday parent UIS among the most acquisitive in the past year. —Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 9 July 2024

Yet in a system that was not led by Washington or another democratic superpower, the aggressive, flagrantly acquisitive action Putin has taken in Ukraine, and that Beijing has taken in the South China Sea, would be far more common. —Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 24 May 2022

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French & Late Latin; French acquisitif, going back to Middle French, borrowed from Late Latin acquīsītīvus "acquired, involving gain or possession," from Latin acquīsītus (past participle of acquīrere "to acquire") + -īvus -ive

First Known Use

1835, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

acquisitive

adjective

ac·​quis·​i·​tive ə-ˈkwiz-ət-iv 

: having a strong wish to acquire things

acquisitiveness noun