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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective greedy differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of greedy are acquisitive, avaricious, covetous, and grasping. While all these words mean "having or showing a strong desire for especially material possessions," greedy stresses lack of restraint and often of discrimination in desire.

greedy for status symbols

When is it sensible to use acquisitive instead of greedy?

In some situations, the words acquisitive and greedy are roughly equivalent. However, acquisitive implies both eagerness to possess and ability to acquire and keep.

an eagerly acquisitive mind

When is avaricious a more appropriate choice than greedy?

The words avaricious and greedy can be used in similar contexts, but avaricious implies obsessive acquisitiveness especially of money and strongly suggests stinginess.

an avaricious miser

Where would covetous be a reasonable alternative to greedy?

The meanings of covetous and greedy largely overlap; however, covetous implies inordinate desire often for another's possessions.

covetous of his brother's country estate

How does the word grasping relate to other synonyms for greedy?

Grasping adds to covetous and greedy an implication of selfishness and often suggests unfair or ruthless means.

a hard grasping businesswoman who cheated her associates

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 greedy When Sue becomes greedy with her time, exceeding seven days on the outside, Elisabeth suffers the consequences, and things take a dark and twisted turn. Samantha Stutsman, People.com, 3 Mar. 2025 Whitfield was introduced in season one as a greedy mining baron who has his eye on every last acre in Paradise Valley, including the Dutton ranch. Lynette Rice, Deadline, 23 Feb. 2025 Consciously or not, Orsolya has played an active role in such urban growth; her job is to evict people from the lots that have been gobbled up by the government and/or greedy real estate developers who want to turn them into condos, chain stores, and luxury hotels. David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 19 Feb. 2025 Many of the Bronx’s Jews were not just liberals but leftists, leading rent strikes against greedy landlords. Andrew Silow-Carroll, Sun Sentinel, 12 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for greedy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for greedy
Adjective
  • Neither Evil Steve Jobs nor his mercenary lackey are given much of a motor and oppressive presence.
    Courtney Howard, Variety, 7 Mar. 2025
  • Since invading Ukraine, Putin has regularly invoked old arguments about Russia’s imperial role in the world, yet his references amount to a mercenary patchwork.
    James Verini, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • While Scherzinger’s ravenous performance provides a great part of this revival’s adrenaline, the show is also jolted into new life by the collision of the spartan Lloydiverse with all the plush and purple of Lloyd Webber’s score.
    Vulture Editors, Vulture, 4 Feb. 2025
  • By comparing Chandra's observations with the JWST's measurements of hydrogen ionization, the researchers found that galaxies with the most ravenous black holes show the lowest star formation rates.
    Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 2 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • While some locals are excited to gossip about the church, others are much more tight-lipped.
    Guthrie Scrimgeour, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2025
  • March Madness is here and fans are excited to watch one of the more popular events of the sports calendar year.
    Mark Davis, Newsweek, 16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • For a very long time, other nations have been sizing up California with a covetous eye.
    Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2025
  • Those include a daffy retriever, a headstrong capybara, a covetous lemur and a mysterious bird, as well as glimpses of more fantastical creatures.
    Jack Smart, People.com, 5 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • But thousands of women, children, and older people – many hungry and some shoeless – trailed behind the troops, doing their best to keep up.
    Barbara Spindel, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Mar. 2025
  • In 1504, Christopher Columbus, on his fourth trans-Atlantic voyage, was stranded on the shores of Jamaica, with his ships crawling with marine worms and his crew hungry.
    Jamie Carter, Space.com, 10 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • One of those suits targets Patrick Byrne, the founder of Overstock.com and an avid supporter of President Trump.
    Lucien Bruggeman, ABC News, 6 Mar. 2025
  • An avid hiker, Lauren knows the importance of dressing appropriately for unexpected weather conditions.
    Lauren Breedlove, Travel + Leisure, 6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Not only is China’s population (1.4 billion) enormous, that same population is increasingly acquisitive.
    John Tamny, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2025
  • In a year of severe economic headwinds, being shrewdly acquisitive with its majority stakes paid off for STV, which runs a channels business, digital biz and the STV Studios productions arm.
    Max Goldbart, Deadline, 11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • To devour one in a single bite would be gluttonous.
    Tanya Sichynsky, New York Times, 25 Feb. 2025
  • Another venerable Caribbean Carnival tradition is the breakfast party, which on paper sounds like bona-fide madness: wake up in the middle of the night, go to a nice venue, drink and dance until the sun rises, eat a gluttonous drunken breakfast, then return home to get back in bed and knock out.
    Baz Dreisinger, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Greedy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/greedy. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.

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