voracious

[vaw-rey-shuhs, vuh-]

adjective

1. craving or consuming large quantities of food.

   a voracious appetite.

2. exceedingly eager or avid.

   voracious readers; a voracious collector.

   Synonyms: insatiable, rapacious

voracious

/ vɒˈræsɪtɪ, vɒˈreɪʃəs /

adjective

1. devouring or craving food in great quantities

2. very eager or unremitting in some activity

   voracious reading

Other Word Forms

• voraciously adverb
• voraciousness noun
• unvoracious adjective
• unvoraciousness noun
• voracity noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of voracious¹

First recorded in 1625–35; voraci(ty) + -ous

Word History and Origins

Origin of voracious¹

C17: from Latin vorāx swallowing greedily, from vorāre to devour

Synonym Study

See ravenous.

Example Sentences

China’s previous economic transformation left the country with a voracious appetite for commodities, cars, and capital goods.

Read more on Barron's

Another variable is the emergence of artificial intelligence; China’s voracious demand for electricity is putting pressure on governments to add generating capacity as quickly as possible.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Keeping their image for integrity intact in this world of greedy and needy players and voracious gamblers is only going to get harder.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Hollywood was once the ideal place for a shoemaker, says Francis, with its voracious creative industry that churned out a constant stream of people who needed to make themselves stand out from the crowd.

Read more on Barron's

Some also have a voracious appetite for cattle.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• avid 
• insatiable 
• prodigious 
• rapacious 
• ravenous