appetite
Americannoun
-
appetites
plural
-
a desire for food or drink.
I have no appetite for lunch today.
- Antonyms:
- satiety
-
a desire to satisfy any bodily need or craving.
- Synonyms:
- wish, inclination, hunger, longing
- Antonyms:
- satiety
-
a desire or liking for something; fondness; taste.
an appetite for power; an appetite for pleasure.
- Antonyms:
- satiety
noun
-
a desire for food or drink
-
a desire to satisfy a bodily craving, as for sexual pleasure
-
(usually foll by for) a desire, liking, or willingness
a great appetite for work
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of appetite
1275–1325; Middle English appetit (< Anglo-French ) < Latin appetītus natural desire, equivalent to appetī- (variant stem of appetere; see appetence) + -tus suffix of v. action
Explanation
If you've filled your plate three times, you must have a strong appetite. I hope you still have room for dessert. The Latin word appetitus, meaning "desire for," is the root for appetite. If you have worked up an appetite, you have a desire for food. If you've lost your appetite, you're not hungry at all (maybe because something upset you). You can have an appetite for things other than food. Perhaps you have an appetite for power, or funny movies, or for little silver shoes with buttons on them.
Vocabulary lists containing appetite
Eat Your Words
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Nutrition - Introductory
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Because of Winn-Dixie
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Paramount meanwhile has expressed little appetite for making major changes to the deal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Regular activity can also help regulate appetite and blood glucose, which may help reduce cravings and limit overeating.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
More and more, diners are leaning into “proteinmaxxing,” the viral health trend that promotes increased protein intake with the goal of boosting metabolism, decreasing appetite and increasing muscle mass.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
But investor appetite in lending the US government money through buying bonds is "diminishing", Swanson warns, creating a "vicious" cycle, requiring the government to offer ever higher returns to keep investors purchasing its debt.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
I wasn’t hungry, and Papa’s appetite was down, too, judging by the way he picked at his food and picked at making conversation.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
And the outlook for future profits is strong, if fans’ appetites are any gauge.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
It will be a reminder of what food media can offer when it chooses to nourish more than our appetites.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
Williams said his staff were baking about 400 Welsh cakes a day to keep up with diners' appetites.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
As wine sales have steadily declined in recent years, appetites for white varieties have remained healthy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
There was plenty of everything, and there were a lot of jokes about the interns’ giant appetites.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
