devoured

past tense of devour
1
2
3
as in inhaled
to swallow or eat greedily the starving villagers simply devoured the relief food

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 devoured Soon Drews noticed the speed with which her cheesecakes were devoured. — David Farley, Bon Appetit Magazine, 15 Sep. 2026 Typically just a minute or two in length, the videos are devoured by Chinese audiences at breakfast, on their morning commutes, during their lunch breaks and on their free time after work — and almost any time in between. — Ling Wei, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026 Readers and critics devoured the book (no pun intended), but their responses often worry Brooks. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 10 Sep. 2026 Any food or flesh that crossed their paths was quickly devoured. — Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2026 The British media devoured the story, as even then Day-Lewis was synonymous with intense devotion to his craft. — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 6 Sep. 2026 Crabs tore through fishing nets, devoured mollusks at an alarming rate and edged out the native green crab, a local soft-shell specialty. — ABC News, 2 Sep. 2026 Only weeks ago, the most destructive wildfire in Spanish history devoured 500 square kilometers (193 square miles) and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people in Ávila, in central Spain. — Suman Naishadham, Chicago Tribune, 12 Aug. 2026 Behind Brighton, the other two most devoured by the ‘Big Six’ in the past decade are Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers. — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 12 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for devoured
Verb
  • In recent weeks, a debate over AI's potential harms has consumed the technology industry, prompting AI leaders, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, to propose slowing its development.
    — Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026
  • There’s no indication Aileen ever stayed at the house or that she was consumed by Lizzie’s story.
    — Kelly Allen, PEOPLE, 20 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Cooks, who turns 33 on Friday, spent last season with New Orleans and Buffalo, making 24 catches for 279 yards in 15 games.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Sep. 2026
  • In Kenya, this actuarial approach manifested as weeks spent in a Land Rover, counting herds of zebra with a handheld mechanical tally counter in my right hand and binoculars in my left.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Messick emerged from the dugout tunnel Monday afternoon in a hoodie with cutoff sleeves, inhaled and reveled in the crisp air that tends to accompany a playoff race.
    — Zack Meisel, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026
  • The Midcentury Modern library where Rosales first inhaled the aroma of old books has changed.
    — Myriam Gurba, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Such litigation should only be considered as a last resort once all other reasonable options have been exhausted.
    — Michael L. Hyman, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2026
  • The talent team is exhausted, the hiring leader is frustrated and great candidates lose interest or withdraw.
    — Jamie Savage, Forbes.com, 23 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • That public has continually widened its gullet and gulped.
    — Dan Greene, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
  • Many years had passed since Caity Maple, a Sacramento councilmember, gulped down orange juice.
    — Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 10 May 2026
Verb
  • Detectives drained three dams, searched six mineshafts and sent up drones with specialized cameras to take detailed imagery, later analyzed with artificial intelligence.
    — Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Canyon Lake, a storage reservoir and popular recreation spot on the Salt River, will be drained for the first time in 20 years starting this month.
    — Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 18 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • This halts the nuclear fusion process — which involves converting that hydrogen to helium — leading to the stars collapsing and shedding their outer layers to become a white dwarf with around the mass of the sun crammed into the width of Earth.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Crowds crammed into theaters to see Marilyn Monroe magnified on the screen.
    — Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Six decades earlier, on the same grounds, a young Muhammad Ali absorbed a famous left hook from Henry Cooper late in the fourth round, then finished the fight in the fifth when the referee stopped it because of a severe cut over Cooper’s eye.
    — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 1 hour.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Sep. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Devoured.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/devoured. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!