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.

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.

ANTONYMS FOR ravenous

1 sated.

Related forms

rav·en·ous·ly, adverbrav·en·ous·ness, noun

Can be confused

ravenous 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 ravenously

The prince, I knew, was ravenously greedy and tyrannical, and wearied all with his scandalous exactions.
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume IX.|Robert Kerr
He was ravenously hungry now, and if he smoked that would perhaps dull the sensation.
Of High Descent|George Manville Fenn
He snatched it without a word, and ate it ravenously, keeping his eye fixed upon me in the most embarrassing way.
Dead Man's Rock|Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
The Stranger ate absent-mindedly and ravenously, drinking his ale in greedy draughts.
Through Welsh Doorways|Jeannette Augustus Marks

Just at this juncture the obliging trout come into season, and best of all, are ravenously hungry.
Three Hundred Things a Bright Boy Can Do|Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for ravenously

ravenous

/ (ˈrævənəs) /

adjective

famished; starving

rapacious; voracious

Derived Forms

ravenously, 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