as in greedy
having or marked by an eager and often selfish desire especially for material possessions
an avaricious scheme to con the elderly couple out of thousands of dollars
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Recent Examples of avaricious
Stalin’s apprenticeship in high-stakes diplomacy had shown him to be cunning but also opportunistic, avaricious, obdurate.
—
Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 19 Sep. 2017
Few places in the U.S. are more fraught with unresolved tension than South Dakota’s Black Hills, land stolen from the Sioux after treaties had been signed in order for avaricious Americans to pursue gold.
—Grayson Haver Currin, Outside Online, 7 July 2024
To make the situation even worse, many traders were smart, young, risk-loving, and avaricious.
—Alan S. Blinder, Foreign Affairs, 16 Feb. 2015
Code Words Across the centuries, the conspiracy theory of the manipulative, avaricious Jew has worn many faces, from Judas to Shylock to the Rothschilds.
—Alex Lemonides, New York Times, 9 May 2024
See All Example Sentences for avaricious
Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 19 Sep. 2017
Few places in the U.S. are more fraught with unresolved tension than South Dakota’s Black Hills, land stolen from the Sioux after treaties had been signed in order for avaricious Americans to pursue gold.
—Grayson Haver Currin, Outside Online, 7 July 2024
To make the situation even worse, many traders were smart, young, risk-loving, and avaricious.
—Alan S. Blinder, Foreign Affairs, 16 Feb. 2015
Code Words Across the centuries, the conspiracy theory of the manipulative, avaricious Jew has worn many faces, from Judas to Shylock to the Rothschilds.
—Alex Lemonides, New York Times, 9 May 2024
See All Example Sentences for avaricious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for avaricious
Adjective
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People often stereotype crypto investors as reckless, young, or greedy.—
Jennifer Jolly,
USA Today,
18 June 2025
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To be patient but not to be greedy, Lilian thought now, studying Maureen’s pale eyelids.—
Yiyun Li,
New Yorker,
15 June 2025
Adjective
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Any spy or mercenary line of work comes at a massive cost.—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
19 June 2025
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The two had admittedly a little too much fun making their new action comedy, which follows the lavish wedding of Betsy (Camp) and Ryan (Sam Huntington), which is crashed by a mercenary group that takes everyone hostage.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
19 June 2025
Adjective
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Columbus has the most cap room in the league and is eager to add this summer.—
Pierre LeBrun,
New York Times,
21 June 2025
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The ballpark help seemed eager to please, and restrictions on seating and other areas were loose to unenforced.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
21 June 2025
Adjective
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The competitive battle for smaller players continued into the early 1960s until antitrust laws curtailed the acquisitive sprees.—
Vicki M. Young,
Footwear News,
3 Sep. 2019
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Over its history OpenText has been an highly acquisitive company to build out its software stack.—
GuruFocus,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Image Meet Me at the Crossroads by Megan Giddings The sudden appearance of seven mysterious doors across the world draws attention from religious sects, covetous billionaires and everyday people who speculate over what lies on the other side.—
Laura Thompson,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
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His approach, on and off the pitch, has had a transformative effect and as Palace seek to secure him on a new contract, there have been covetous glances cast in his direction from clubs in the German Bundesliga.—
Matt Woosnam,
New York Times,
24 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Avaricious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/avaricious. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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