avarice

av·a·rice

noun \ˈa-və-rəs, ˈav-rəs\

Definition of AVARICE

: excessive or insatiable desire for wealth or gain : greediness, cupidity

Examples of AVARICE

1. The corporate world is plagued by avarice and a thirst for power.
2. He was driven by avarice.
3. Adherence to the Baldwin model is usually more a sin of thoughtlessness and convenience than of conscious avarice, though it is always an appropriation of moral power, a stealing of thunder. —Shelby Steele, Harper's, November 2002
4. … a company of artists, among them the young Thomas Nast, seated at rows of desks in a high-ceilinged studio overlooking the avarice and deviltry walking in and out of New York's City Hall. —Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, June 2000
5. Unlike the rest of us, stuck in our jobs, choking on carbon monoxide, heeling around on overpriced shoes, recovering from a decade of avarice, Chip works and he's tanned and happy. —Peter Wilkinson, Rolling Stone, 11-25 July 1991
6. Nor was private avarice their besetting sin although they were as subject as most men to the stings of ambition. —Barbara W. Tuchman, The March of Folly, 1984

Origin of AVARICE

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin avaritia, from avarus avaricious, from avēre to crave — more at avid

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to AVARICE

Synonyms: acquisitiveness, greed, avariciousness, avidity, avidness, covetousness, cupidity, graspingness, greediness, mercenariness, rapaciousness, rapacity

Related Words: commercialism, materialism, possessiveness; gluttonousness, gluttony, piggishness; appetite, craving, desire, drive, hankering, hunger, itch, longing, lust, passion, pining, ravenousness, thirst, voracity, yearning, yen; egoism, egotism, self-centeredness, self-interest, selfishness, self-regard

Near Antonyms: contentment, fulfillment (or fulfilment), gratification, satisfaction; bounteousness, bountifulness, bounty, charity, generosity, generousness, largesse (also largess), liberality, magnanimity, openhandedness, openheartedness, unselfishness; altruism, selflessness

[+]more[-]hide