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devour
[ dih-vou-uhr, -vou-er ]
/ dÉŖĖvaŹ Ér, -ĖvaŹ Ér /
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verb (used with object)
to swallow or eat up hungrily, voraciously, or ravenously.
to consume destructively, recklessly, or wantonly: Fire devoured the old museum.
to engulf or swallow up.
to take in greedily with the senses or intellect: to devour the works of Freud.
to absorb or engross wholly: a mind devoured by fears.
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Origin of devour
1275ā1325; Middle English devouren<Anglo-French, Old French devourer<Latin dÄvorÄre to swallow down, equivalent to dÄ-de- + vorÄre to eat up
OTHER WORDS FROM devour
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Ā© Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use devour in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for devour
devour
/ (dÉŖĖvaŹÉ) /
verb (tr)
to swallow or eat up greedily or voraciously
to waste or destroy; consumethe flames devoured the curtains
to consume greedily or avidly with the senses or mindhe devoured the manuscripts
to engulf or absorbthe flood devoured the land
Derived forms of devour
devourer, noundevouring, adjectivedevouringly, adverbWord Origin for devour
C14: from Old French devourer, from Latin dÄvorÄre to gulp down, from de- + vorÄre to consume greedily; see voracious
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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