as in avarice
an intense selfish desire for wealth or possessions
don't let greed for riches control you
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of greed
Corporate greed is out of control.
—
Ticked Off, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Feb. 2026
The synth-heavy soundtrack is back, nodding to the greed-is-good eighties while evoking both an ultra-contemporary cool and an inhuman chill.
—Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
The expediency and greed of the fast-moving artificial intelligence industry are the motivators, and health and safety are no longer of paramount concern.
—Chicago Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
The dazzling works of Fra Angelico both testify to the immense wealth and power of fourteenth-century Florentine society and attempt to heal its pride, greed, and brutal inequality.
—Ingrid D. Rowland, The New York Review of Books, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for greed
Ticked Off, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Feb. 2026
The synth-heavy soundtrack is back, nodding to the greed-is-good eighties while evoking both an ultra-contemporary cool and an inhuman chill.
—Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
The expediency and greed of the fast-moving artificial intelligence industry are the motivators, and health and safety are no longer of paramount concern.
—Chicago Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
The dazzling works of Fra Angelico both testify to the immense wealth and power of fourteenth-century Florentine society and attempt to heal its pride, greed, and brutal inequality.
—Ingrid D. Rowland, The New York Review of Books, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for greed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for greed
Noun
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In a world where most sports have a shady underbelly and the fixes often are in one way or another, no one is ever going to tell you that boxing of all competitions is an avarice or sticky-fingers-free zone.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
3 Feb. 2026
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But the damage this episode of Europe-bashing and open colonial avarice has done is real and enduring.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
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People in the comments shared in the woman’s frustration, agreeing that her mother's greediness needs to be addressed.—
Meredith Wilshere,
PEOPLE,
5 Oct. 2025
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When kids didn’t withdraw, it was sometimes seen as greediness.—
Mary Frances Ruskell,
CNN Money,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
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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
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Trump’s entire doctrine is naked rapacity, from Venezuela to hijacking the Kennedy Center to hideously remaking the White House in his own gaudy image.—
Maureen Dowd,
Mercury News,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
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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
Noun
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Whether through invasion, subversion, or transaction, the stories of new conquests are always lit by moments of deviltry, cupidity, violence, and farce.—
Washington Post,
Washington Post,
27 Jan. 2026
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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
Noun
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The three women, all widows, were brought together by their shared grief and desire to help others in the same situation.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
22 Feb. 2026
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The difficulty lies in aligning financial reality, operational necessity, and emotional desire into a decision that makes sense five and 10 years from now.—
Allen Buchanan,
Oc Register,
21 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Simple fasting from food can be ruined — rendered not pleasing to Allah — if spoiled by telling lies, slander, denouncing someone behind his back, swearing a false oath, greed or covetousness.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Above all, take on a volunteer shift serving food to really get to know what hunger looks like.—
Annemarie Dooling,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
18 Feb. 2026
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Congress has dismantled one of the nation’s most effective protections against hunger while extending tax cuts to wealthy Americans and corporations.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
18 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Greed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/greed. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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