greedy
[gree-dee]
- 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.
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Origin of greedy
before 900; Middle English gredy, Old English grædig; cognate with Old Norse grāthugr, Gothic gredags
Synonyms
See more synonyms for greedy on Thesaurus.com1. grasping, rapacious, selfish. 2. ravenous, voracious, gluttonous, insatiable. 3. covetous, anxious.
Synonym study
1, 3. See avaricious.
Antonyms
1. generous, unselfish.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for greedy
Contemporary Examples
The answer may be that animals are greedy: they need a lot of oxygen to grow big and complicated.
Why Did It Take So Long For Complex Life To Evolve On Earth? Blame Oxygen.Matthew R. Francis
November 2, 2014
Only the greedy say that greed is good and there is no shaming of the shameless.
But this soft and greedy subversive organelle is no match for the brilliance of our scientists!
We must arrest and return their fugitive slaves with greedy pleasure.
The Silicon Valley tech firms tend to be every bit as cutthroat and greedy as any capitalist enterprise before it.
Silicon Valley’s Giants Are Just Gilded Age Tycoons in Techno-Utopian ClothesJoel Kotkin
April 25, 2014
Historical Examples
Malbone, greedy of emotion, was drinking to the dregs a passion that could have no to-morrow.
MalboneThomas Wentworth Higginson
They were thinking: "That greedy little girl has gone on and on eating."
Life and Death of Harriett FreanMay Sinclair
Those who have much are often greedy; those who have little always share.
De ProfundisOscar Wilde
Rgina was greedy, but her pride was greater than her greediness.
My Double LifeSarah Bernhardt
Oh yes, any thing at all, ma'am; I'm not greedy—nor needy, thanks above!
Tales And Novels, Volume 8 (of 10)Maria Edgeworth
greedy
- excessively desirous of food or wealth, esp in large amounts; voracious
- (postpositive foll by for) eager (for)a man greedy for success
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for 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."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper