Synonym Chooser

How is the word voracious different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of voracious are gluttonous, rapacious, and ravenous. While all these words mean "excessively greedy," voracious applies especially to habitual gorging with food or drink.

teenagers are often voracious eaters

When could gluttonous be used to replace voracious?

In some situations, the words gluttonous and voracious are roughly equivalent. However, 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

When can rapacious be used instead of voracious?

While the synonyms rapacious and voracious are close in meaning, rapacious often suggests excessive and utterly selfish acquisitiveness or avarice.

rapacious developers indifferent to environmental concerns

When might ravenous be a better fit than voracious?

While in some cases nearly identical to voracious, 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

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of voracious Giard grew up to become both a voracious reader (with a B.A. in English and American literature from Yale and an M.A. in comparative literature from Boston University) and a foremost chronicler of writers. Chris Wiley, New Yorker, 28 June 2025 Michelle Young, a professor of architecture at Columbia University, also follows the war’s impact on Jewish art dealer Paul Rosenberg and his family, another target of voracious Hermann Göring and his ilk. Pat Tompkins, AFAR Media, 18 June 2025 Hosono’s mastery of sound comes from his voracious musical appetite, a consummate collector and listener of records. Joshua Minsoo Kim, Pitchfork, 18 June 2025 The earliest photography was voracious and encyclopedic. Vince Aletti, New Yorker, 24 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for voracious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for voracious
Adjective
  • Though one is a human innovation and the other hails from a distant world, neither would’ve posed a danger had greedy tech barons not released them from the Pandora’s box of scientific progress.
    Judy Berman, Time, 5 Aug. 2025
  • O’ahu, Maui, Kaua’i and the big island of Hawai’i were all joined by water but divided by greedy men, cunning chiefs and a cycle of endless combat.
    Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Brown was an avid fitness enthusiast and amateur body builder who regularly worked out at Anytime Fitness in Forest Lake, Glader said.
    Mary Divine, Twin Cities, 13 Aug. 2025
  • Booth is an avid donor to both KU and the University of Chicago and previously donated $50 million to KU football in 2017.
    Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • The parasite exploits any open wound or orifice on a wide range of warm-blooded animals to feed its ravenous spawn.
    Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 8 Aug. 2025
  • The first film offered only a taste of the vibrant culture and history of Wakanda, and audiences seemed ravenous for more.
    Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 31 July 2025
Adjective
  • Jeremiah is not enthusiastic about his summer internship with his dad’s company, and the last thing his dad wants to talk about is the wedding.
    Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
  • Diamandis was enthusiastic about the injection, but hardly impartial; the treatment was about to be trialled on two hundred Fountain Life patients, including him.
    Tad Friend, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • What they’re really known for, though, is their grass-fed, local beef burgers and hearty portions—so make sure to come hungry.
    Angela Lian, Travel + Leisure, 15 Aug. 2025
  • What hungry kids really need is better politicians, served up with a side of common sense and a dash of compassion.
    Pat Beall, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Bobby and Connie’s first steps into official coupledom, however, puts a satisfying capper on their reunion arc this season, and leaves me very excited for where these two go next.
    Genevieve Koski, Vulture, 6 Aug. 2025
  • During the quarter-mile hike, one of the young participants was excited to find a salamander underneath a log.
    Deena Butterfield, Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • It’s created a new market opportunity for brands eager to peddle protein-forward products to this growing demographic.
    Boutayna Chokrane, Wired News, 6 Aug. 2025
  • After the first four episodes of the show’s new installment were released on Wednesday, Aug. 6, fans were eager to see the singer, 39, in her guest starring role.
    Liza Esquibias, People.com, 6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • One of Trump’s most ardent conservative supporters, former Fox News host Megyn Kelly, lashed out last month over the initial reports about a possible Diddy pardon, vehemently advocating against one.
    Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 6 Aug. 2025
  • The ardent belief is that there is a missing piece that nobody has identified yet.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Voracious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/voracious. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.

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