greedy
[ gree-dee ]
/ ˈgri di /
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.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
rapacious, selfish, hungry, impatient, eager, acquisitive, avaricious, avid, carnivorous, close, covetous, craving, desirous, gluttonous, grasping, insatiable, intemperate, itchy, miserly, omnivorous
Nearby words
- greebo,
- greece,
- greed,
- greedily,
- greediness,
- greedy guts,
- greegree,
- greek,
- greek alphabet,
- greek calends
Origin of greedy
before 900; Middle English gredy, Old English grædig; cognate with Old Norse grāthugr, Gothic gredags
SYNONYMS FOR greedy
1. grasping, rapacious, selfish. 2. ravenous, voracious, gluttonous, insatiable. 3. covetous, anxious.
Synonym study
1, 3. See avaricious.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for greedy
greedy
/ (ˈɡriːdɪ) /
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
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
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greedy
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."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper