avaricious
Americanadjective
Synonym Usage
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 Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of avaricious
late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; see origin at avarice, -ious
Explanation
Someone who is avaricious is greedy or grasping, concerned with gaining wealth. The suggestion is that an avaricious person will do anything to achieve material gain, and it is, in general, not a pleasant attribute. The Latin verb avēre, meaning "to crave" provides the groundwork for the word avaricious and its definition as "greedy or covetous." The adjective is applied to anyone who "craves" great wealth, and suggests that desire for personal gain is an overriding influence in the avaricious person's life. The widespread quality of this selfishness was cleverly noted by Voltaire, who wrote, “Men hate the individual whom they call avaricious only because nothing can be gained from him.”
Vocabulary lists containing avaricious
"The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs
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More Negative Words to Describe a Person
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"The Monkey's Paw," Vocabulary from the short story
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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.
Pre-IPO allocations have been devoured by wealthy investors, and post-IPO trading is expected to be truly avaricious.
From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026
His avaricious acquisitions of western lands is well known and not incidental to his desire to break from Great Britain, which had tried to limit western migration.
From Slate • Feb. 16, 2026
Liverpool are not the only club casting an avaricious eye over the man who is currently one of the hottest managerial properties.
From BBC • Jan. 29, 2024
It was colonialism at its most naked and avaricious, and the battles were largely fought at sea.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2023
It was roughly four times what even the most avaricious moneylender would charge.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
