voracious

adjective vo·ra·cious \ vȯ-ˈrā-shəs , və- \

|Updated on: 30 Jul 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: voracious in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Veracious or voracious?

Definition of voracious

1 : having a huge appetite : ravenous

2 : excessively eager : insatiable

a voracious reader

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voraciously

adverb

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voraciousness

noun

See voracious defined for English-language learners

See voracious defined for kids

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Examples of voracious in a Sentence

He has a voracious appetite.
it seemed like the voracious kitten was eating her weight in food every day

Recent Examples of voracious from the Web

The dam straddles Oregon and Washington, and the sea lions' voracious eating there affects fish populations in both states, as well as in Idaho and elsewhere.

— ryan sabalow, sacbee, "To protect salmon in the Columbia, will we have to kill more sea lions?," 6 July 2018
With a population of nearly 1.4 billion, China had a voracious appetite.

— author: david goldstein, Anchorage Daily News, "Cities scramble to rewrite rules on recycling after China restricts ‘foreign garbage’," 3 July 2018
Nashville Predators fans have become some of the most voracious and informed hockey fans in the U.S.

— si.com staff, SI.com, "Nine Innings: Jason Heyward's Turning Point, Expansion Possibilities and Bryce Harper's Struggles," 18 June 2018
Pat was a voracious reader, devouring everything from detective novels to biographies, and was extremely appreciative of the Windsor Public Library.

— hartford courant, courant.com, "Patricia Alves," 21 June 2018
Brock said her mother was also a voracious reader, loved music and was active in her community, volunteering with the Daughters of the American Revolution and at Wauwatosa United Methodist Church.

— samantha west, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Woman killed in head-on crash in Wauwatosa remembered for her love of art, teaching, grace," 6 June 2018
In a world seemingly filled with giant, voracious corporations, that matters.

— mary mooney, OregonLive.com, "Traveling Ewe looking to expand; help them do it with Indiegogo and Patreon," 11 June 2018
The most voracious readers may go home with four books, Clary said.

— page leggett, charlotteobserver, "Faith, fitness and fun converge at Camp Walter Johnson," 31 May 2018
But as Ben Guarino reports for the Washington Post, these voracious flatworms have been stealthily making their way through France for the past two decades, evading scientists’ attention until recently.

— brigit katz, Smithsonian, "Hammerhead Flatworms Have Been Quietly Invading France for Two Decades," 26 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'voracious.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Veracious or voracious?

Take care to distinguish between the near-homophones veracious and voracious, whose similarities in sound mask utterly different meanings. Veracious (“honest, truthful”), like its cousins veritable, verify, and very, concerns that which is true. Voracious (”having a greedy or insatiable appetite”), on the other hand, describes the urge to consume large quantities of something, often food, books, or ideas. One way to remember the difference is that the one with the E as its second letter means "truE," and the one with the O as its second letter means "ravenOus." Not coincidentally, these adjectives have near-homophonous noun derivatives: veracity ("truthfulness") and voracity ("the quality or state of being voracious").

Did You Know?

Voracious is one of several English words that derive from the Latin verb vorare, which means "to eat greedily" or "to devour." "Vorare" is also an ancestor of "devour" and of the "-ivorous" words, which describe the diets of various animals. These include "carnivorous" ("meat-eating"), "herbivorous" ("plant-eating"), "omnivorous" ("feeding on both animals and plants"), "frugivorous" ("fruit-eating"), "graminivorous" ("feeding on grass"), and "piscivorous" ("fish-eating").

Origin and Etymology of voracious

Latin vorac-, vorax, from vorare to devour; akin to Old English ācweorran to guzzle, Latin gurges whirlpool, Greek bibrōskein to devour

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1635

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

voracious Synonyms

Phrases

champing at the bit, chomping at the bit;

Synonym Discussion of voracious

voracious, gluttonous, ravenous, rapacious mean excessively greedy. voracious applies especially to habitual gorging with food or drink.

- teenagers are often voracious eaters

gluttonous applies to one who delights in eating or acquiring things especially beyond the point of necessity or satiety.

- an admiral who was gluttonous for glory

ravenous implies excessive hunger and suggests violent or grasping methods of dealing with food or with whatever satisfies an appetite.

- a nation with a ravenous lust for territorial expansion

rapacious often suggests excessive and utterly selfish acquisitiveness or avarice.

- rapacious developers indifferent to environmental concerns

VORACIOUS Defined for English Language Learners

voracious

adjective

Definition of voracious for English Language Learners

: having or showing a tendency to eat very large amounts of food

VORACIOUS Defined for Kids

voracious

adjective vo·ra·cious \ vȯ-ˈrā-shəs , və- \

Definition of voracious for Students

1 : very hungry : having a huge appetite

2 : very eager

a voracious reader

—

voraciously

adverb

Word Root of voracious

The Latin word vorāre, meaning “to eat greedily,” gives us the root vor. Words from the Latin vorāre have something to do with eating. An herbivorous animal eats only plants. A carnivorous animal eats only other animals. To devour is to eat up greedily. Anyone voracious likes to eat a lot.