ravenous

[ rav-uh-nuhs ]

adjective

1. extremely hungry; famished; voracious:

   feeling ravenous after a hard day's work.

   Synonyms: greedy

2. extremely rapacious:

   a ravenous jungle beast.

   Synonyms: predatory

3. intensely eager for gratification or satisfaction.

ravenous

/ ˈrævənəs /

adjective

1. famished; starving
2. rapacious; voracious

Derived Forms

• ˈravenously, adverb
• ˈravenousness, noun

Other Words From

• raven·ous·ly adverb
• raven·ous·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ravenous¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Old French ravineus, equivalent to ravin(er) “to plunder” ( See raven ² ) + -eus -ous

Word History and Origins

Origin of ravenous¹

C16: from Old French ravineux , from Latin rapīna plunder, from rapere to seize

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

There are "heavily armed gladiators riding a charging rhinoceros" and "wounded men tumbling from boats into the jaws of ravenous sharks" during the nautical battle staged in the flooded pit of the Colosseum.

From BBC

An August sit-down with CNN’s Dana Bash, with her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz beside her, was painted as a Milk Bone toss to a ravenous wolf pack – an amuse bouche too insubstantial to sate.

From Salon

Even the most ravenous are beginning to tire of the attention now.

From BBC

What makes it extra special: “I enjoy the scramble and huff up the challenging crags. I’ll sometimes trail run up and will have to bound over a basking, slumbering snake or two. Harmless but spooked. Not to mention the scramble of feral rabbits darting every which way as I come lumbering down the path. It’s that kind of ravenous tranquility no amount of yoga or meditation can ever hope to attain. No small amount of nirvana, I say.”

From Los Angeles Times

Namely, a ravenous need for a new pair of sunglasses.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• ferocious
• greedy
• insatiable
• rapacious
• voracious