appetite

[ap-i-tahyt]

noun

1. a desire for food or drink.

   I have no appetite for lunch today.

   Synonyms: thirst, hunger, longing
   Antonyms: satiety

2. a desire to satisfy any bodily need or craving.

   Synonyms: wish, inclination, hunger, longing
   Antonyms: satiety

3. a desire or liking for something; fondness; taste.

   an appetite for power; an appetite for pleasure.

   Synonyms: zest, gusto, relish, thirst, hunger, longing
   Antonyms: satiety

appetite

/ əˈpɛtɪtɪv, ˈæpɪˌtaɪtɪv, ˈæpɪˌtaɪt /

noun

1. a desire for food or drink

2. a desire to satisfy a bodily craving, as for sexual pleasure

3. (usually foll by for) a desire, liking, or willingness

   a great appetite for work

Other Word Forms

• appetitive adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of appetite¹

1275–1325; Middle English appetit (< Anglo-French ) < Latin appetītus natural desire, equivalent to appetī- (variant stem of appetere; appetence ) + -tus suffix of v. action

Word History and Origins

Origin of appetite¹

C14: from Old French apetit, from Latin appetītus a craving, from appetere to desire ardently

Idioms and Phrases

see whet one's appetite

Example Sentences

Over the course of 270 pages, “Cheese Magic” unfolds like a calendar of appetites.

Read more on Salon

In recent years, PepsiCo has struggled to claw soda market share back from rivals, while its food business has stalled as inflation weighed on shoppers’ appetite for snacks.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

These fundamental drivers show no signs of weakening, Cawley told MarketWatch, and the persistent demand-supply imbalance, combined with strong investor and industrial appetite “positions silver for sustained gains in the coming quarters.”

Read more on MarketWatch

“This aligns with our recent view that the pound’s near term fortunes are largely determined by dollar dynamics and global risk appetite rather than U.K. fundamentals,” Monex Europe analysts say in a note.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

New smelters will likely require new coal-fired power plants, which Western banks don’t have much appetite to fund, Yao says.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• craving 
• demand 
• fondness 
• greed 
• hunger 
• inclination 
• longing 
• lust 
• passion 
• penchant 
• propensity 
• stomach 
• taste 
• thirst 
• weakness 
• willingness 
• yearning 
• zeal 
• zest