ravenous
[rav-uh-nuh s]
- extremely hungry; famished; voracious: feeling ravenous after a hard day's work.
- extremely rapacious: a ravenous jungle beast.
- intensely eager for gratification or satisfaction.
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Origin of ravenous
Synonyms
See more synonyms for ravenous on Thesaurus.com1. greedy, starved, devouring. Ravenous, ravening, voracious suggest a greediness for food and usually intense hunger. Ravenous implies extreme hunger, or a famished condition: ravenous wild beasts. Ravening adds the idea of fierceness and savagery, especially as shown in a violent manner of acquiring food: ravening wolves. Voracious implies craving or eating a great deal of food: a voracious child; a voracious appetite. It may also be used figuratively: a voracious reader. 2. predatory.
Antonyms
1. sated.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for ravenous
Contemporary Examples
It was like throwing a pack of ravenous dogs a side of raw meat.
It was an irresistible feast for ravenous culture warriors on both sides.
Franco, the perpetual and ravenous learner, would get straight A's from any of those teachers.
The Yes ListAugust 11, 2011
Today, as our ravenous offspring turns 2, Ms. Brown sits down and subjects herself to another grilling.
A voracious reader, and a ravenous consumer of all media, Brown has always been able to talk a good game.
Historical Examples
In a moment the prey was torn to bits by the ravenous monsters.
Joseph is as greedy and as ravenous as Lucien, but not so frank or indiscreet.
Memoirs of the Court of St. Cloud, CompleteLewis Goldsmith
And he cried so loud, he had wakened up so ravenous, that she decided to nurse him again.
Doctor PascalEmile Zola
Another quarter of an hour passed, and we were all ravenous.
The Stark Munro LettersJ. Stark Munro
The colonel had to eat, in vying admiration of Jeff, ravenous from his day's walk.
The PrisonerAlice Brown
ravenous
- famished; starving
- rapacious; voracious
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Word Origin
C16: from Old French ravineux, from Latin rapīna plunder, from rapere to seize
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 ravenous
adj.
late 14c., "obsessed with plundering, extremely greedy," from Old French ravinos, of people, "rapacious, violent," of water, "swift-flowing," from raviner "to seize," from ravine "violent rush, robbery" (see ravine). Meaning "voracious, very hungry" is from early 15c. Related: Ravenously; ravenousness.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper