consuming
Americanadjective
Other Word 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.
Ms. Tatar speaks of the female spider’s habit of killing and consuming her mate, taking in his fluids as nourishment for laying hundreds of eggs.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
“Think about consuming 18 grams of fiber at lunch,” he said.
From MarketWatch • May 10, 2026
Chan School of Public Health, adults were consuming an average of 2.9 ounces of protein per day in 2025.
From Salon • May 7, 2026
France favours creating a system of groups of producing, processing and consuming nations that share a commitment to implementing good practices.
From Barron's • May 5, 2026
He glanced toward the kitchen, which the flames were consuming with glee, and headed across the living room toward Angel’s bedroom.
From "Forged by Fire" by Sharon M. Draper
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.
