avidity

noun

avid·​i·​ty ə-ˈvi-də-tē 

a-

plural avidities

1

: the quality or state of being avid:

a

: keen eagerness

b

: consuming greed

2

: affinity sense 2b(2)

Synonyms

• acquisitiveness
• avarice
• avariciousness
• avidness
• covetousness
• cupidity
• graspingness
• greed
• greediness
• mercenariness
• rapaciousness
• rapacity

Example Sentences

an advanced case of avidity that led to shoplifting at the tender age of 13

in her avidity to express her opinions, she frequently and unthinkingly interrupts people

Recent Examples on the Web

Read the rest here, and please celebrate the holidays with avidity—whatever that might mean to you. —Lila Maclellan, Fortune, 16 Dec. 2022

The trouble was that Giuliani was cashing in on a reputation for honesty and probity with unseemly avidity. —Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2022

Honoring the contributions of the enslaved in a city that abounds with layers of historical mysteries can require avidity of purpose and judicious interpretation. —Klara Glowczewska, Town & Country, 18 Mar. 2022

Mutations may also increase the avidity of the spike protein for the receptor or stabilize the spike, increasing infectivity. —William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2021

Mutations may also increase the avidity of the spike protein for the receptor or stabilize the spike, increasing infectivity. —William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2021

Mutations may also increase the avidity of the spike protein for the receptor or stabilize the spike, increasing infectivity. —William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 22 Sep. 2021

Mutations may also increase the avidity of the spike protein for the receptor or stabilize the spike, increasing infectivity. —William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 22 Sep. 2021

Mutations may also increase the avidity of the spike protein for the receptor or stabilize the spike, increasing infectivity. —William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 22 Sep. 2021

See More

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

avidity

noun

avid·​ity ə-ˈvi-də-tē, a- also ā- 

: a characteristic of antibodies (such as antitoxins) that tends to enhance their rate or stability in binding with an antigen

Antibody avidity is an average measure of the affinity of the antibodies for a particular antigen in a serum sample.

—Dominic F. Kelly, The New England Journal of Medicine