as in gobbling
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1
as in consuming
to destroy all trace of
a series of devastating storms devoured the beach on the south side of the island
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in spending
to make complete use of
a catastrophic medical event that devoured their savings
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in inhaling
to swallow or eat greedily
the starving villagers simply devoured the relief food
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of devouring
New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
Matias Cid, a 25-year-old student who lives in Penco, described fast-moving flames burning through the night and devouring homes.
—CBS News, 18 Jan. 2026
Kelson sees the fragments of the individual left in this person the virus has turned into a brain-devouring behemoth and wonders at them.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 17 Jan. 2026
The dastardly delicious reality show, The Traitors, is back with a vengeance for its fourth season, and my mom and I are devouring every episode while rapid-fire texting each other from our respective couches in Cleveland and Los Angeles.
—Jamie Allison Sanders, PEOPLE, 16 Jan. 2026
Newsom spent more than a week in practice, reading his script off teleprompters, off and on, and devouring its content, the insider says.
—George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2026
Hollywood can’t get enough of their breakthrough act and fans are devouring every piece of content that emerges as a result.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 12 Jan. 2026
One room held a sculpture of a lion devouring an antelope.
—Elise Taylor, Vanity Fair, 23 Dec. 2025
The series is technically a prequel to 2017's It and 2019's It Chapter Two, which were adapted from Stephen King's 1986 epic novel about Derry, Maine, a small town being terrorized by an ancient, child-devouring evil that surfaces every 27 years.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Dec. 2025
Verb
At a house party full of caviar, one of the women, while immersed in a motherhood quandary, asks another if there’s something psychotic and untoward in her devouring piles of tiny eggs.
—New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
Matias Cid, a 25-year-old student who lives in Penco, described fast-moving flames burning through the night and devouring homes.
—CBS News, 18 Jan. 2026
Kelson sees the fragments of the individual left in this person the virus has turned into a brain-devouring behemoth and wonders at them.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 17 Jan. 2026
The dastardly delicious reality show, The Traitors, is back with a vengeance for its fourth season, and my mom and I are devouring every episode while rapid-fire texting each other from our respective couches in Cleveland and Los Angeles.
—Jamie Allison Sanders, PEOPLE, 16 Jan. 2026
Newsom spent more than a week in practice, reading his script off teleprompters, off and on, and devouring its content, the insider says.
—George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2026
Hollywood can’t get enough of their breakthrough act and fans are devouring every piece of content that emerges as a result.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 12 Jan. 2026
One room held a sculpture of a lion devouring an antelope.
—Elise Taylor, Vanity Fair, 23 Dec. 2025
The series is technically a prequel to 2017's It and 2019's It Chapter Two, which were adapted from Stephen King's 1986 epic novel about Derry, Maine, a small town being terrorized by an ancient, child-devouring evil that surfaces every 27 years.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for devouring
Verb
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Fiber intake, in particular, showed a strong association with longevity, while consuming lots of sugary beverages was linked to higher all-cause mortality.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
13 Feb. 2026
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What’s more, in athletes, typical signs of an eating disorder, such as training for long hours without appropriate breaks for meals or obsessing about only consuming certain healthy foods, can be overlooked due to the normalization of these behaviors in high-level sports.—
Emily Hemendinger,
The Conversation,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The fiscal angst is most obvious in urban school districts, where enrollment declines are most severe and where unions are the strongest, often spending heavily to elect friendly school board members.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Pritzker’s $56 billion election-year budget plan represents one of the smallest increases in state spending the governor has proposed since the governor took office in 2019.—
Rick Pearson,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Your daughter breathes that same air, inhaling the virus directly into her respiratory tract.—
Elizabeth Bruenig,
The Atlantic,
12 Feb. 2026
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These new players were inhaling possibilities.—
Jerry Brewer,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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To prevent this from happening again, repot the peace lily in fresh soil that is well-draining.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Wembanyama made a 3-pointer, but Raptors star Barnes ended it by draining his only shot of the game.—
Greg Beacham,
Twin Cities,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Yes, gulping the liquid the night before was an ordeal — try drinking three liters of anything in three hours, going to sleep, then waking up six hours later for one final liter.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Feb. 2026
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Protostars are messy and dynamic, gulping down material in spurts and fits and ejecting powerful outflows of wind and jets that punch into the surrounding clouds.—
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry,
Space.com,
16 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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To watch any one of Wiseman’s films is to fall under the spell of a master who used the medium to make the viewer a more empathetic and enlightened person, supplying the pleasure of watching human nature through the perceptive eye of a humorous, unpretentious man with insatiable curiosity.—
Chris O'Falt,
IndieWire,
16 Feb. 2026
-
The energy appetite is insatiable.—
Mary Ellen Klas,
Twin Cities,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The selling pressure appears to be exhausting itself, setting the stage for a classic snap-back rally.—
Nishant Pant,
CNBC,
10 Feb. 2026
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Still, investors in tech giants are growing nervous because these firms are essentially exhausting their available capital to fund the infrastructure buildout, according to Luria.—
Jake Angelo,
Fortune,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Each story unfolds at a rapid pace, bouncing between provocative shots of eccentric people and cramming two distinct sets of warring neighbors into each half-hour episode.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
13 Feb. 2026
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With the current contact period, during which coaches can visit recruits, ending Saturday and the following period not starting until mid-April, his team was busy booking charter flights and cramming seven days' worth of visits into four or five days.—
Doug Gollan,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Devouring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/devouring. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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