appetite

ap·pe·tite

noun \ˈa-pə-ˌtīt\

Definition of APPETITE

1

: any of the instinctive desires necessary to keep up organic life; especially : the desire to eat

2

a : an inherent craving <an insatiable appetite for work>

b : taste, preference <the cultural appetites of the time — J. D. Hart>

— ap·pe·ti·tive \-ˌtī-tiv\ adjective

Examples of APPETITE

1. He has a healthy appetite.
2. Some common symptoms are tiredness, nausea, and loss of appetite.
3. I had no appetite and couldn't sleep.

Origin of APPETITE

Middle English apetit, from Anglo-French, from Latin appetitus, from appetere to strive after, from ad- + petere to go to — more at feather

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to APPETITE

Synonyms

hunger, belly, emptiness, famishment, munchies, stomach

Antonyms

inappetence

Related Words

rapaciousness, rapacity, ravenousness, voraciousness, voracity; malnutrition, starvation, undernourishment; craving, sweet tooth; famine, fast, hunger strike; gluttony, gourmandism, greed, hoggishness

Near Antonyms

fill, fullness, glut, repleteness, repletion, satiation, satiety, satisfaction, surfeit

Rhymes with APPETITE

acolyte, aconite, aerolite, Ammonite, Amorite, amosite, anchorite, andesite, anthracite, antiwhite, apartheid, arsenite, azurite, Bakelite, bedlamite, Benthamite, biotite, bipartite, black-and-white, blatherskite, bleacherite, bring to light, Brooklynite, bryophyte, calamite, Canaanite, candlelight, Carmelite, Castroite, catamite, cellulite, cenobite, chalcocite, chestnut blight, Chinese white, columbite, coprolite, copyright, cryolite, crystallite, disinvite, disunite, divine right, dolerite, dolomite, dynamite, ebonite, epiphyte, eremite, erudite, expedite, extradite, featherlight, fight-or-flight, fly-by-night, gelignite, geophyte, gesundheit, gigabyte, Gilsonite, Hashemite, hematite, hemocyte, hessonite, Hitlerite, Houstonite, hug-me-tight, Hutterite, hyalite, Ibsenite, impolite, inner light, Ishmaelite, Isle of Wight, Israelite, Jacobite, Jerseyite, Josephite, kilobyte, kimberlite, laborite, lazulite, leading light, Leavisite, Leninite, leukocyte, lily-white, localite, lymphocyte, macrophyte, magnetite, malachite, manganite, Marcionite, Masonite, megabyte, Mennonite, Minorite, Moabite, Mr. Right, muscovite, Muscovite, Nazirite, neophyte, oocyte, open sight, out-of-sight, overbite, overflight, overnight, oversight, overwrite, parasite, patent right, perovskite, phagocyte, pilot light, plebiscite, proselyte, Puseyite, pyrrhotite, recondite, reunite, rhyolite, running light, Saint Paulite, saprolite, satellite, Scottish rite, second sight, see the light, self-ignite, serve one right, shergottite, socialite, sodalite, sodomite, spider mite, Stagirite, Sydneyite, taconite, tanzanite, terabyte, time-of-flight, traffic light, transfinite, transvestite, tripartite, troglodyte, Trotskyite, Ulsterite, ultralight, underwrite, urbanite, vigil light, Wahhabite, water right, water sprite, watertight, Wycliffite, xerophyte, yesternight, zoophyte

ap·pe·tite

noun \ˈap-ə-ˌtīt\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of APPETITE

: any of the instinctive desires necessary to keep up organic life; especially : the desire to eat

—ap·pe·ti·tive \-ˌtīt-iv\ (audio pronunciation) adjective