avaricious

[ av-uh-rish-uhs ]

See synonyms for avaricious on Thesaurus.com

adjective

characterized by avarice; greedy; covetous.

Origin of avaricious

late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; see origin at avarice, -ious

synonym study For avaricious

Avaricious, covetous, greedy, rapacious share the sense of desiring to possess more of something than one already has or might in normal circumstances be entitled to. Avaricious often implies a pathological, driven greediness for money or other valuables and usually suggests a concomitant miserliness: the cheerless dwelling of an avaricious usurer. Covetous implies a powerful and usually illicit desire for the property or possessions of another: The book collector was openly covetous of my rare first edition. Greedy, the most general of these terms, suggests a naked and uncontrolled desire for almost anything—food and drink, money, emotional gratification: embarrassingly greedy for praise. Rapacious, stronger and more assertive than the other terms, implies an aggressive, predatory, insatiable, and unprincipled desire for possessions and power: a rapacious frequenter of tax sales and forced auctions.

Other words from avaricious

av·a·ri·cious·ly, adverb
av·a·ri·cious·ness, noun

Words Nearby avaricious

How to use avaricious in a sentence

And if both women are more amoral and avaricious than Ma Joad and Mama Younger, well, so are we.
Is There a Ma Joad for the Piketty Era? | Katie Baker | July 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
For this story has not been derived from hacked voicemails, an avaricious doctor, or a garrulous friend.
Is Kate Preggers? | Tom Sykes | November 6, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
“There are so many couples who fit that bill,” she says of the avaricious pair.
The Art World's Devil Wears Prada | James Reginato | May 13, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
Though good and worthy in his way, the old man was avaricious, and possessed an enormous amount of family pride.
The World Before Them | Susanna Moodie
Strictly reared by a mother gentle and devout, and by a father hard and avaricious.
Repertory Of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A -- Z | Anatole Cerfberr and Jules Franois Christophe

He had the reputation of being an avaricious man; but she was beginning to think he was probably poorer than people knew.
Summer | Edith Wharton
Why do so many persons, who are neither ambitious nor avaricious, toil with such untiring ardour?
The Seven Cardinal Sins: Envy and Indolence | Eugne Sue
I knocked open the boxes and spread the goods, and then they acted avaricious, particularly the old man with the chicken bones.
The Belted Seas | Arthur Colton

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