voracity

American  

[vaw-ras-i-tee, voh-, vuh-] / vɔˈræs ɪ ti, voʊ-, və- /

noun

1. the condition or quality of being voracious.

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Etymology

Origin of voracity

1520–30; < Latin vorācitās, equivalent to vorāc- (stem of vorāx ) gluttonous + -itās -ity

Explanation

Use the noun voracity when you're describing someone's enormous, gluttonous appetite. Some people eat a little and others eat a lot. The ones who eat an extreme amount have the quality of voracity — basically, it means overeating. Sometimes this word refers to literally eating too much, and other times it refers to the desire to overeat. Anyone might eat a couple of hot dogs, but only someone with voracity could eat ten or eleven in one sitting. At the root of voracity is the Latin word vorare, which means "to devour."

Example Sentences

Place your fresh pakoras onto a paper towel-lined platter and watch as you, or anyone near you, scarfs them down with the same voracity with which one would demolish a carton of McDonald's french fries.

From Salon • Jun. 28, 2023

A magician who later challenged spoon benders, mind readers and faith healers with such voracity that he became regarded as the country’s foremost skeptic.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 7, 2020

I am not a writer of John Lennon’s notoriety, and I am not possessed of his voracity for sensationalism.

From Washington Post • Aug. 28, 2020

In another piece of dating advice, Alexa spikes the idea of coffee dates with the voracity of an all-star volleyball player.

From The Verge • Jan. 7, 2018

He felt the tingling in his hands, the lightness in his head, the heaviness of his heart, and it consumed him, filled him to the brim with a bitterness and voracity that burned his throat.

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro