as in greed
an intense selfish desire for wealth or possessions
reports of great treasure in the Indies inflamed the cupidity of Columbus's crew
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Recent Examples of cupidity
Most accounts of the era blame greed—a new ethic of cupidity that displaced whatever youthful idealism remained from the 1960s.
—
Literary Hub, 15 May 2026
The stories of corporate cupidity and stupidity are perhaps more relevant now with technology discrupting markets.
—Frank Racioppi, Forbes.com, 13 Apr. 2026
Whether through invasion, subversion, or transaction, the stories of new conquests are always lit by moments of deviltry, cupidity, violence, and farce.
—Washington Post, 27 Jan. 2026
Sarah Wynn-Williams’s damning memoir of working at Facebook exposes the predatory cupidity of the company’s executives.
—Rachel Nolan, The New York Review of Books, 9 May 2025
Pilgrimage, though couched in spiritual aims, often bordered on sheer cupidity.
—Aatish Taseer, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2023
Céline often accused Rosembly of having stolen the manuscripts from his apartment in the chaos of the war’s end; certainly, Rosembly was imprisoned for looting various collaborators’ apartments in Montmartre, where Céline used to live, though whether out of revenge or cupidity is also unclear.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 15 June 2022
The meaning of cupidity: a strong desire for wealth.
—Dallas News, 1 June 2022
Literary Hub, 15 May 2026
The stories of corporate cupidity and stupidity are perhaps more relevant now with technology discrupting markets.
—Frank Racioppi, Forbes.com, 13 Apr. 2026
Whether through invasion, subversion, or transaction, the stories of new conquests are always lit by moments of deviltry, cupidity, violence, and farce.
—Washington Post, 27 Jan. 2026
Sarah Wynn-Williams’s damning memoir of working at Facebook exposes the predatory cupidity of the company’s executives.
—Rachel Nolan, The New York Review of Books, 9 May 2025
Pilgrimage, though couched in spiritual aims, often bordered on sheer cupidity.
—Aatish Taseer, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2023
Céline often accused Rosembly of having stolen the manuscripts from his apartment in the chaos of the war’s end; certainly, Rosembly was imprisoned for looting various collaborators’ apartments in Montmartre, where Céline used to live, though whether out of revenge or cupidity is also unclear.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 15 June 2022
The meaning of cupidity: a strong desire for wealth.
—Dallas News, 1 June 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cupidity
greed
Noun
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His fragile starman is a strange, complex being navigating his way through Earth’s obstacles, including love, lust, addiction, greed, and ambition in his plight to save his planet and survive the chaos caused by his arrival.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
29 May 2026
-
Crichton goes to a lot of effort to give plausible explanation to the harvesting and recombination of dinosaur DNA, and the mistakes that the involved human beings make are ones of ego, greed, and—more or less—neglecting to double-check their homework before turning it in.—
Ian Mackenzie,
Literary Hub,
27 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cupidity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cupidity. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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