GREED Synonyms: 60 Similar and Opposite Words

greed

noun

ˈgrēd

Definition of greed

as in avarice

an intense selfish desire for wealth or possessions don't let greed for riches control you

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 greed Some rabbinic readings attribute Lot’s hesitation to leave Sodom to his immoral greed and inordinate wealth. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 July 2026 Entering our 250th year, America will either emerge as a more perfect union, or crumble under the weight of our own cruelty and greed. — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 24 June 2026 Released at the tail end of Reaganomics, Carpenter’s most politically forward thriller now feels like a decoder ring for ’80s-era greed, detachment, complacency and ruthlessness. — Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2026 Arghandiwal, an Oakland native born to Afghan immigrant parents, launched the Oakland Roots to centralize the community aspect of sports, especially in a city that lost its pro teams to the greed of major sports. — Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 30 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for greed

Recent Examples of Synonyms for greed

Noun

The theory here is that avarice and ambition can best be defeated by means of somebody else’s avarice and ambition; power’s inevitable corrupting effect is thereby mitigated or delayed.

— Ann Manov, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026
And the forces that contributed to their demise — avarice, ignorance and a lack of imagination — are ascendant, illustrated by plans for a five-story Rolex shop on Las Olas and the Gekko district being built in downtown West Palm Beach.

— Ben Crandell, Sun Sentinel, 3 June 2026

Definition of avarice

Noun

The French—and, later, Anglo (Wilde, Beardsley, Rossetti)—attitude, mannered and morbid, was perhaps too Old World, at odds with our cheerful, Protestant rapacity.

— Olivia Kan-Sperling, Artforum, 2 May 2026
Unlike the specialized literary magazine and its informal cousin, the literary blog, the general-interest newspaper has a kind of noble rapacity, an encyclopedic ambition to wrap its arms around the whole of the world.

— Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2026

Definition of rapacity

Noun

Many critics of such wanton cosmic acquisitiveness balk at the idea of scarcely regulated private-sector lunar strip-mining.

— Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 14 May 2026
Following too closely in its protagonist’s footsteps, The Queen of Versailles presents only two options — tough but spiritually fulfilling material deprivation or unconstrained acquisitiveness.

— Sara Holdren, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025

Definition of acquisitiveness

Noun

Most accounts of the era blame greed—a new ethic of cupidity that displaced whatever youthful idealism remained from the 1960s.

— Literary Hub, 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

Definition of cupidity

Noun

But experts say higher energy costs in Europe and a desire to slow global warming fuel the air conditioning-free lifestyle.

— Jeff Wagner, CBS News, 1 July 2026
And yet Webster’s dictionary, and his earlier attempts at spelling reform, expressed a radical desire to forge an entirely new tongue based in the vernacular genius of the aspiring American people.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 July 2026