Synonyms of devours

devours

verb

present tense third-person singular of devour

1

as in consumes

to destroy all trace of

a series of devastating storms devoured the beach on the south side of the island

Synonyms & Similar Words

• consumes
• demolishes
• devastates
• eats (up)
• ruins
• drains
• shatters
• eradicates
• depletes
• wrecks
• extinguishes
• spends
• expends
• guts
• exhausts
• obliterates
• annihilates
• pulverizes
• removes
• decimates
• smashes
• uses up
• wastes
• stamps (out)
• exterminates
• wipes out
• desolates
• razes
• extirpates
• tears down
• does in
• blots out
• rubs out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• protects
• saves
• preserves
• builds
• raises
• conserves
• constructs
• erects
• puts up

2

as in spends

to make complete use of

a catastrophic medical event that devoured their savings

Synonyms & Similar Words

• consumes
• spends
• exhausts
• drains
• absorbs
• reduces
• eats
• burns
• uses
• depletes
• expends
• empties
• plays out
• decreases
• draws down
• runs out of
• uses up
• diminishes
• wastes
• lowers
• weakens
• downsizes
• dwindles
• undermines
• impoverishes
• lessens
• saps
• debilitates
• disables
• cripples
• abates
• bankrupts
• cleans (out)
• blows
• enfeebles
• guzzles
• squanders
• lavishes
• dissipates
• de-escalates
• dries up
• runs through
• throws away
• fritters (away)
• misspends

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• replaces
• increases
• renews
• enlarges
• augments
• reinforces
• enforces
• strengthens
• restores
• repairs
• preserves
• revives
• saves
• conserves
• fortifies
• bolsters
• rebuilds

3

as in inhales

to swallow or eat greedily

the starving villagers simply devoured the relief food

Synonyms & Similar Words

• inhales
• gulps
• crams
• scoffs
• gobbles
• scarfs
• wolfs
• slops
• ravens
• gorges
• gluts
• bolts
• overeats
• ingurgitates
• gormandizes
• swills
• pigs out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• picks
• pecks
• nibbles

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of devours

The larvae come from the Cochliomyia hominivorax fly, which invades open wounds or the mucous membranes of body openings in any warm-blooded animal, including humans, and devours tissue, causing the wounds to become increasingly deep and painful. — Abraham Tellez, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2026

The fungus then slowly devours the ant, sprouting through its head in one final indignity. — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 6 Aug. 2026

Regardless, there’s a clear symbolism to Clark empathizing and embracing a bloated externalization of his own inchoate fury until someone with an outside perspective disturbs his peace, and that fury breaks loose and devours him. — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 29 May 2026

In my experience, urgency devours strategy for breakfast, lunch and dinner. — Allison Mais, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026

There are Americans—and Britons and Canadians and Australians and Europeans, too—who remember that a society that turns on its Jewish minority eventually devours itself. — David Frum, The Atlantic, 21 May 2026

Today, the city devours tens of millions every year. — Susan Spencer, CBS News, 17 May 2026

His popularity’s decline was shaped partly by race, partly by our deep but uneven revulsion toward scandal involving children, and partly by a media ecosystem that devours spectacle. — Steven Gray, Time, 29 Apr. 2026

From her experience, the grasshopper drawing attention in Arizona devours everything in its path, whereas the chapulín is tied to greener environments and specific crops, such as cornfields, alfalfa, and squash leaves. — Nadia Cantú, AZCentral.com, 25 Mar. 2026