Definition of voracious
1 : having a huge appetite : ravenous
2 : excessively eager : insatiable a voracious reader
voraciously
adverbvoraciousness
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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
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Seeking to avoid politics, Mr. Mattis, a voracious reader of history, said the American public had long been conflicted about the burdens of an international role.
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But there are so many of the voracious pests out there this spring that some trees are already being defoliated, Stafford said, and more are likely to be stripped of their leaves before the fungus can have a real impact.
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Sasse holds up multi-generational relationships, world travel, and voracious reading as ways of building greater empathy and self-knowledge.
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But after the turn of the century, a new and voracious consumer of commodities emerged—China, its economy growing by nearly 10 percent a year for several years running.
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Vodafone AirTouch, the voracious British telecom, is taking control of Airtel, Spain’s second largest mobile operator, ending a yearlong dispute with British Telecommunications over Airtel.
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.
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
First Known Use: 1635
Synonym Discussion of voracious
VORACIOUS Defined for English Language Learners
voracious
playDefinition of voracious for English Language Learners
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: having or showing a tendency to eat very large amounts of food
VORACIOUS Defined for Kids
voracious
playDefinition of voracious for Students
1 : very hungry : having a huge appetite
2 : very eager a voracious reader
voraciously
adverbWord 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.
Learn More about voracious
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See words that rhyme with voracious Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for voracious Spanish Central: Translation of voracious Nglish: Translation of voracious for Spanish speakers
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