avarice
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of avarice
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin avāritia, equivalent to avār(us) “greedy” + -itia -ice
Explanation
Avarice is a fancy word for good old-fashioned greed. It's one of what some call "the seven deadly sins." Do you want more and more money? Or cookies? Or video games? Or anything? Then your heart is full of avarice, which you probably know better as greed. When people talk about greed, it's clearly not a good thing, but avarice has an even worse flavor to it. Avarice is often looked upon as a sin, and it's always considered despicable and evil.
Vocabulary lists containing avarice
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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A Christmas Carol
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The death of a British teen reveals a bizarre tale of avarice and deception.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026
Bondi has made a career of poor decisions, questionable actions and unbridled avarice that makes Cruella de Vil look like Barbie.
From Salon • Jul. 17, 2025
Pico was once rich beyond the dreams of avarice, but he died so steeped in debt that a collector snatched the very sombrero off his head to sell for his creditors.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2024
The head of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, has said the causes of the incident were "greed and avarice" which had allowed all rational safety rules to be broken.
From Reuters • Aug. 16, 2023
They wanted him to exercise such qualities on the people, so that they might double their salary and give vent to their avarice and cruelty.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
