consuming
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of consuming
Explanation
If you have a passion for art, and making it is all you can think about or do, your passion for art is consuming. It is intense and almost overwhelming. Picture a fire burning in a fireplace. The fire consumes the logs you have put in it. It completely devours them in order to burn. When something, a passion or a drive, is consuming, it dominates a person's life like that fire, and in a sense, it devours their energy and attention. Your consuming desire to travel might cause you to study abroad for a semester or even move to Europe.
Vocabulary lists containing consuming
"The Scholarship Jacket" by Marta Salinas
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Clap When You Land
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NYTimes Summer Reading Contest Winners' Words
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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.
And the world is also making do with less oil — Asian countries, particularly China, curbed energy imports and are consuming less.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026
Runtime is a problem "plaguing every humanoid company" Griffin says – locomotion and moving joints are power consuming.
From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026
For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss consuming escapist vs. difficult art and the turmoil of modern marriage through The Drama and Beef Season 2.
From Slate • Jun. 4, 2026
Currently, that’s done manually and can be time consuming.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026
The old man was tall and his chest was wide; at one time he had been heavier, but old age was consuming everything but the bones.
From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko
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.
