ravenous
[ rav-uh-nuhs ]
/ ˈræv ə nəs /
adjective
extremely hungry; famished; voracious: feeling ravenous after a hard day's work.
extremely rapacious: a ravenous jungle beast.
intensely eager for gratification or satisfaction.
RELATED WORDS
voracious, rapacious, insatiable, ferocious, greedy, avaricious, covetous, empty, famished, gluttonous, grasping, omnivorous, predatory, edacious, insatiate, ravening, wolfish
Nearby words
- raven,
- raven, the,
- ravening,
- raveningly,
- ravenna,
- ravenously,
- raver,
- ravi,
- ravigote,
- ravin
Origin of ravenous
SYNONYMS FOR ravenous
1. 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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for ravenous
ravenous
/ (ˈrævənəs) /
adjective
famished; starving
rapacious; voracious
Word Origin for ravenous
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
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
ravenous
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper