covetous

[kuhv-i-tuhs]

adjective

1. inordinately or wrongly desirous of wealth or possessions; greedy.

   Synonyms: rapacious, grasping

2. eagerly desirous.

covetous

/ ˈkʌvɪtəs /

adjective

1. jealously eager for the possession of something (esp the property of another person)

Other Word Forms

• covetously adverb
• covetousness noun
• noncovetous adjective
• noncovetously adverb
• overcovetous adjective
• overcovetously adverb
• uncovetous adjective
• uncovetously adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of covetous¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English coveitous, from Anglo-French, Old French; covet, -ous

Synonym Study

See avaricious.

Example Sentences

With a parting glance at the Hixby’s Guide—did Penelope imagine it, or was it a longing, greedy, covetous sort of glance?—he left.

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In their brief, intense interaction, Lockjaw develops a covetous one-sided relationship with his conqueror, as rooted in fetishistic lust as it is racism and control.

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For a very long time, other nations have been sizing up California with a covetous eye.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Consider Second Timothy, 3: 2: “For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy.”

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Hammons seems like the victor in his attempt to satirize not so much the transaction of art for dollars but the covetous, oblivious, entitled nature of certain transactors.

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