greedy

[gree-dee]

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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 greedy

rapacious, selfish, hungry, impatient, eager, acquisitive, avaricious, avid, carnivorous, close, covetous, craving, desirous, gluttonous, grasping, insatiable, intemperate, itchy, miserly, omnivorous

Examples from the Web for greedy

Contemporary Examples of greedy

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.
Too Big to Jail: Confessions of a Goldman Sachs Brat
Michael Daly
June 26, 2014
But this soft and greedy subversive organelle is no match for the brilliance of our scientists!
The Fake Superbug Cure
Kent Sepkowitz
June 21, 2014
We must arrest and return their fugitive slaves with greedy pleasure.
From Las Vegas to Georgia, the NRA Has Created a Monster
Cliff Schecter
June 9, 2014
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 Clothes
Joel Kotkin
April 25, 2014

Historical Examples of greedy

Malbone, greedy of emotion, was drinking to the dregs a passion that could have no to-morrow.
Malbone
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
They were thinking: "That greedy little girl has gone on and on eating."
Life and Death of Harriett Frean
May Sinclair
Those who have much are often greedy; those who have little always share.
De Profundis
Oscar Wilde
Rgina was greedy, but her pride was greater than her greediness.
My Double Life
Sarah 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

British Dictionary definitions for greedy

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 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."