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

Derived Forms

• voracity, noun
• voˈraciously, adverb

Other Words From

• vo·ra·cious·ly adverb
• vo·ra·cious·ness noun
• un·vo·ra·cious adjective
• un·vo·ra·cious·ness 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

“I really believe there’s something of who the coach is as a person when he thinks about the tactics that he wants to use for the team,” said Sartini, a voracious reader and student who is fluent in three languages.

From Los Angeles Times

To know that after heavy January rains, inevitably there will be a deep, V-shaped rut along the center of the trailhead, like a voracious alien mouth; or that in late May the mustard weed will be so wildly overgrown and bushy that it will completely swallow up the trailhead sign, post and all; or that for a brief window in late October-early November, two pink silk floss trees will bloom the color of bubble gum just below the Vista Del Valle lookout point.

From Los Angeles Times

Payne, a gifted lyricist and voracious listener, had a steeper climb to find his own sound.

From Los Angeles Times

“If I didn’t believe that I could understand on some deep level his anguish and turmoil and his need, and the sort of Gordian knot that every character has but Roy has particularly — if I didn’t believe that I could understand it or connect to it in a way that is faithful or voracious, I wouldn’t have done it. I certainly don’t do these things just for my own self-aggrandizement.”

From Los Angeles Times

While fellow firefighters were battling voracious blazes throughout Northern California, Cal Fire engineer Robert Hernandez is accused of igniting his own fires, according to authorities.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• avid
• insatiable
• prodigious
• rapacious
• ravenous