ravenous

[ rav-uh-nuhs ]

/ ˈræv ə nəs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ravenous ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Nearby words

raven, raven, the, ravening, raveningly, ravenna, ravenous, ravenously, raver, ravi, ravigote, ravin

Origin of ravenous

1350–1400; Middle English < Old French ravineus, equivalent to ravin(er) to raven² + -eus -ous

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.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ravenous ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR ravenous

1 sated.

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Related formsrav·en·ous·ly, adverbrav·en·ous·ness, noun

Can be confusedravenous ravaging ravishing (see synonym study at the current entry)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ravenous

It was like throwing a pack of ravenous dogs a side of raw meat.
The Absurd Case Against Sonia Gandhi|Dilip D’Souza|October 5, 2012|DAILY BEAST
It was an irresistible feast for ravenous culture warriors on both sides.
Augusta’s Weird Culture War Ends With Membership for Rice, Moore|Michelle Cottle|August 21, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Franco, the perpetual and ravenous learner, would get straight A's from any of those teachers.
The Yes List||August 11, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Today, as our ravenous offspring turns 2, Ms. Brown sits down and subjects herself to another grilling.
The Daily Beast Turns 2!|Tina Brown|October 5, 2010|DAILY BEAST

A voracious reader, and a ravenous consumer of all media, Brown has always been able to talk a good game.
The Madonna of Politics|Lloyd Grove|March 15, 2010|DAILY BEAST
They were wearied after their long skate around the island and as ravenous as wolves.
Ruth Fielding At College|Alice B. Emerson
It would be safer here, protecting my comrade, than flaunting in the eyes of the ravenous youth of Oxford.
Sir Ludar|Talbot Baines Reed
Wonderful also was it to find that our appetites were ravenous.
The Poison Belt|Arthur Conan Doyle
And now they draw nigh with increased audacity, their ravenous instincts but strengthened by the check.
The Death Shot|Mayne Reid
Turning its hideous jaws upward, the ravenous creature had literally swallowed hook, line and sinker.
The Ocean Wireless Boys on the Pacific|Wilbur Lawton

British Dictionary definitions for ravenous

ravenous

/ (ˈrævənəs) /

adjective

famished; starving

rapacious; voracious

Derived Formsravenously, adverbravenousness, noun

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

Word Origin and History for ravenous

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.

ravenous

adjective

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of ravenous

Examples from the Web for ravenous

British Dictionary definitions for ravenous

ravenous

adjective

Word Origin for ravenous

Word Origin and History for ravenous

ravenous