Definition of voraciousnext

Synonym Chooser

How is the word voracious different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of voracious are gluttonous, rapacious, and ravenous. While all these words mean "excessively greedy," voracious applies especially to habitual gorging with food or drink.

teenagers are often voracious eaters

When could gluttonous be used to replace voracious?

In some situations, the words gluttonous and voracious are roughly equivalent. However, gluttonous applies to one who delights in eating or acquiring things especially beyond the point of necessity or satiety.

an admiral who was gluttonous for glory

When can rapacious be used instead of voracious?

While the synonyms rapacious and voracious are close in meaning, rapacious often suggests excessive and utterly selfish acquisitiveness or avarice.

rapacious developers indifferent to environmental concerns

When might ravenous be a better fit than voracious?

While in some cases nearly identical to voracious, ravenous implies excessive hunger and suggests violent or grasping methods of dealing with food or with whatever satisfies an appetite.

a nation with a ravenous lust for territorial expansion

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 voracious Resilient global growth, sticky inflation, voracious private and government demand for debt, central banks unwilling to look through high oil prices, vague but palpable fiscal worries. — Michael Santoli, CNBC, 29 Sep. 2026 With their sharp claws and powerful hind legs, skunks are voracious diggers. — Michelle Mastro, Martha Stewart, 24 Sep. 2026 Smith, whose second book in the The Rose Bargain doubled the sales of the first, proving her audience’s voracious appetite, says this is a book that’s been a long time coming. — Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2026 The public outrage over data centers, which the Post said has inspired 375 bills in state legislatures so far, embodies a concern far beyond their voracious demands for land, electricity and water. — Orlando Sentinel, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for voracious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for voracious
Adjective
  • The current system also supports contexts of up to 1,024 tokens and proves an integer version of the model under greedy decoding.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Who Hosts The Shower Some people are adamant that the immediate family of a bride or parent-to-be should never host the shower, suggesting that such a move seems self-serving or like a greedy call for gifts.
    — Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 28 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • Suarez was an avid runner, having completed races with the New York Road Runners.
    — Kelsie Cairns , Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Still, the designer is an avid collector and had some pieces sitting in storage like the BDDW sofa, purchased at auction, that’s now in her living room.
    — Sallie Lewis, Architectural Digest, 3 Nov. 2026
Adjective
  • This year, a gaunt, ravenous stranger stumbles out of the dark carrying something that eats its hosts from the inside out.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Carpenter and King have preferred to keep their batches small and their marketing limited to word of mouth, but that word is spreading, especially across their ravenous genre-loving fan base.
    — Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • The tipster warned that a small number of enthusiastic residents tend to appear over and over in media coverage, skewing public perceptions.
    — Shayla Love, New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2026
  • The pontiff and singer wore enthusiastic grins in a snapshot taken during an audience at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City.
    — Kelly Allen, PEOPLE, 6 Nov. 2026
Adjective
  • Investors hungry for a piece of those profits dove in, pushing some stocks up by double or more.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 Nov. 2026
  • After a campaign season filled with outrage against data centers, the midterm elections ushered in a wave of Democrats pledging to clamp down on the energy-hungry behemoths.
    — Marc Levy, Chicago Tribune, 6 Nov. 2026
Adjective
  • The gala’s also honoring Denis Villeneuve, which Celmins is excited about.
    — Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 6 Nov. 2026
  • That could be a great way to get kids excited about engineering.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 6 Nov. 2026
Adjective
  • Trade labor unions eager for more construction work also backed him.
    — A.D. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Like Dykes, Johnson had a lot of praise for Fifita and is eager to face one of the nation’s best passers.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Nov. 2026
Adjective
  • Six of the paper’s journalists have been murdered during its three and a half decades of operation, including Anna Politkovskaya, an ardent critic of President Vladimir Putin who reported extensively on human rights abuses in Chechnya.
    — Zahra Ullah, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Whatever the reason, Anderson left behind a catalog full of such gems, tucked away on B-sides waiting to be discovered by his most ardent fans.
    — Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Voracious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/voracious. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

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