covetous
[kuhv-i-tuh s]
- inordinately or wrongly desirous of wealth or possessions; greedy.
- eagerly desirous.
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Origin of covetous
Synonyms
See more synonyms for covetous on Thesaurus.com1. grasping, rapacious.
Synonym study
1. See avaricious.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for covetousness
Historical Examples
Dishonesty has its source in the covetousness and greed of the human heart.
An Explanation of Luther's Small CatechismJoseph Stump
In fact, such a deed might savour of jealousy and covetousness.
The Three Cities Trilogy, CompleteEmile Zola
It was not covetousness altogether which had prompted him to do that; the reward was only an incident.
Murder PointConingsby Dawson
The covetousness or the malignity which saddens me when I ascribe it to society, is my own.
Essays, Second SeriesRalph Waldo Emerson
Envy and covetousness begat injustice, and injustice disloyalty.
The Legacy of GreeceVarious
covetous
- (usually postpositive and foll by of) jealously eager for the possession of something (esp the property of another person)
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for covetousness
covetous
adj.
mid-13c., from Old French coveitos (12c., Modern French convoiteux) "desirous, covetous," from Vulgar Latin *cupiditosus, from Latin cupiditas (see covet). Related: Covetously; covetousness.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper