covetous

[kuhv-i-tuhs]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR covetous ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

inordinately or wrongly desirous of wealth or possessions; greedy.

eagerly desirous.

RELATED WORDS

cupidity, greed

Origin of covetous

1250–1300; Middle English coveitous < Anglo-French, Old French; see covet, -ous

Related formscov·et·ous·ly, adverbcov·et·ous·ness, nounnon·cov·et·ous, adjectivenon·cov·et·ous·ly, adverbnon·cov·et·ous·ness, nouno·ver·cov·et·ous, adjectiveo·ver·cov·et·ous·ly, adverbo·ver·cov·et·ous·ness, nounun·cov·et·ous, adjectiveun·cov·et·ous·ly, adverbun·cov·et·ous·ness, noun

Synonyms for covetous

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR covetous ON THESAURUS.COM

1. grasping, rapacious.

Synonym study

1. See avaricious.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for covetousness

Historical Examples of covetousness

In the first place, love of money, or covetousness, is at its root.
The Chainbearer
J. Fenimore Cooper
Likewise with covetousness: we are to understand that it is not to be named of Christians.
Epistle Sermons, Vol. II
Martin Luther
The devil of ambition tempts the great man to it; the devil of covetousness, the little man.
Speeches, Addresses, and Occasional Sermons, Volume 3 (of 3)
Theodore Parker
He imputed the blunder either to covetousness, or to unwillingness that any Englishman should have anything.
Sir Walter Ralegh
William Stebbing
His character was tried besides, not only with the bait of covetousness, but with the goad of fear.
The Confessions of Saint Augustine
Saint Augustine

British Dictionary definitions for covetousness

covetous

adjective

(usually postpositive and foll by of) jealously eager for the possession of something (esp the property of another person)

Derived Formscovetously, adverbcovetousness, noun

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.