greedy

[gree-dee]

See more synonyms for greedy on Thesaurus.com

adjective, greed·i·er, greed·i·est.

excessively or inordinately desirous of wealth, profit, etc.; avaricious: the greedy owners of the company.
having a strong or great desire for food or drink.
keenly desirous; eager (often followed by of or for): greedy for praise.

Origin of greedy

before 900; Middle English gredy, Old English grædig; cognate with Old Norse grāthugr, Gothic gredags

Related formsgreed·i·ly, adverbgreed·i·ness, nouno·ver·greed·i·ly, adverbo·ver·greed·i·ness, nouno·ver·greed·y, adjectiveun·greed·y, adjective

Synonyms for greedy

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1. grasping, rapacious, selfish. 2. ravenous, voracious, gluttonous, insatiable. 3. covetous, anxious.

Synonym study

1, 3. See avaricious.

Antonyms for greedy

1. generous, unselfish.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for greedily

meanly, miserly, cannily, greedily, parsimoniously, stingily

Examples from the Web for greedily

Contemporary Examples of greedily

The more punitive might argue that it was fit punishment for a writer who admits to being “greedily visual.”
Blindness as a Way of Seeing: Candia McWilliam’s Powerful Memoir
Lucy Scholes
April 6, 2012
I could see Laila's eyes widen as she greedily fed on the male.
The Extinction Parade: An Original Zombie Story by Max Brooks
Max Brooks
January 14, 2011

Historical Examples of greedily

A stick of candy from Tom's pocket was greedily accepted by Jackie.
The Dare Boys of 1776
Stephen Angus Cox
He pushed the ham bone between the slats, and Job received it greedily.
The Woman-Haters
Joseph C. Lincoln
He seemed again to be drawing in nourishment from all he saw, drinking it greedily.
The Great Hunger
Johan Bojer
Anything that related to the politics of Kansas the boy listened to greedily.
The Boy Settlers
Noah Brooks
They had clutched at him greedily, and he had repaid with an impertinence.
Olive in Italy
Moray Dalton

British Dictionary definitions for greedily

greedy

adjective greedier or greediest

excessively desirous of food or wealth, esp in large amounts; voracious
(postpositive foll by for) eager (for)a man greedy for success

Derived Formsgreedily, adverbgreediness, noun

Word Origin for greedy

Old English grǣdig; related to Old Norse grāthugr, Gothic grēdags hungry, Old High German grātac

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 greedily

adv.

Old English grædiglice; see greedy + -ly (2).

greedy

adj.

Old English grædig (West Saxon), gredig (Anglian) "voracious," also "covetous," from Proto-Germanic *grædagaz (cf. Old Saxon gradag "greedy," Old Norse graðr "greed, hunger," Danish graadig, Dutch gretig, Old High German gratag "greedy"), from *græduz (cf. Gothic gredus "hunger," Old English grædum "eagerly"), possibly from PIE root *gher- "to like, want" (cf. Sanskrit grdh "to be greedy").

In Greek, the word was philargyros, literally "money-loving." A German word for it is habsüchtig, from haben "to have" + sucht "sickness, disease," with sense tending toward "passion for."