cupidity
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cupidity
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English cupidite, (from Middle French or directly from Latin cupiditās, equivalent to cupid(us) “eager, desirous” ( cup(ere) “to desire” + -idus -id 4 ) + -itās -ity
Explanation
Remember the saying “Greed is good”? It could just as easily be “Cupidity is good,” though admittedly it doesn’t roll off the tongue quite the same way. Cupidity means a burning desire to have more wealth than you need. Though it sounds like it might have something to do with the little winged figure who shoots arrows and makes folks fall in love on Valentine’s Day, cupidity is all about the love of money. It comes to us from Latin cupidus, which means "desirous." It’s not a word that crops up a lot in conversation, though you might run across it in newspapers and magazines, particularly those blaming Wall Street’s unbridled cupidity for America’s economic woes.
Vocabulary lists containing cupidity
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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Declaration of the Rights of Woman (1791)
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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.
“Experience shows that it is not wise to trust human cupidity where it has the opportunity to aggrandize itself at the expense of others,” they wrote.
From Barron's ● May 2, 2026
The dribbling of classic works into the public domain every year on Jan. 1 may be gratifying, but it also serves to underscore the stupidity and cupidity of our convoluted copyright system.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 30, 2022
It is a tale of heroic cupidity on a scale that made the very best and the very brightest look like the very, very foolish.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 25, 2018
What keeps us from tuning out is the infectious energy of an ensemble that delights in its characters’ displays of cupidity and stupidity, and the storybook ingenuity of the physical production.
From New York Times ● Mar. 7, 2018
“O’Dell,” Quentin replied, in all sincerity, “I’m worried that your insatiable cupidity will ultimately prove to be something less than a virtue for our club.”
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
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.
