voraciousadj.
/vəˈreɪʃəs/, U.S. /vəˈreɪʃəs/ 1. in extended use.1850 T. Carlyle Latter-day Pamphlets ii. 7 I had seen him about a year before,..and had noted well the unlovely voracious look of him.
a. Of animals (rarely of persons, or of the throat): Eating with greediness; devouring food in large quantities; gluttonous, ravenous. Also const. of.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > appetite > [adjective] > having (good) appetite > greedy or voracious
yevereOE
greedy971
reavingOE
fretewil?c1225
ravissantc1300
ravishingc1350
ravenous?1387
raveningc1390
ravisablea1425
eating1483
yeverous1483
savourousa1492
yevery1531
vorax1535
gluttonisha1586
falconish1587
ravin1615
vulturous1623
ravened1627
gorb?1635
esurine1687
voracious1693
gastrolatrous1694
tigerantica1704
gutsy1803
bulimious1816
polyphagian1825
yevrisome1825
edacious1829
polyphagous1837
tigerocious1874
bulimic1886
hyperphagic1943
1693 W. Congreve tr. Juvenal in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires xi. 222 Well may they fear some Miserable End..Whose large voracious Throats have swallow'd All.
1699 W. Dampier Voy. & Descr. ii. ii. 68 The King Carrion Crows..are very voracious, and will dispatch a Carkass in a trice.
1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World ii. 52 The Spaniards are..cruel, inexorable, uncharitable, voracious.
1750 G. Hughes Nat. Hist. Barbados 81 These [Cockroaches] are very troublesome, being voracious of most kinds of dressed victuals.
1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) I. 88 All the Indians of South America..are in general excessively voracious.
1819 J. F. Stephens Shaw's Gen. Zool. XI. ii. 616 All the species being extremely voracious.
1855 D. T. Ansted in Orr's Circle Sci.: Inorg. Nature 69 At the earliest introduction of fishes we find the voracious and highly organized tribe of sharks fully represented.
1861 J. R. Greene Man. Animal Kingdom II. 229 Yet are the Ctenophora very voracious, feeding on a number of floating marine animals.
b. figurative. Of persons: Excessively greedy or eager in some desire or pursuit. Also const. of.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > wish or inclination > desire > inordinate or excessive desire > [adjective]
lustfulc893
yevereOE
covetousa1300
unmeasurablea1398
lustsomea1400
over-lustya1500
coveting1526
kitish1566
inexpleble1569
salt1598
over-desirous1647
voraginousa1652
sitient1656
voragious1665
gluttonous1671
ingorgeous1679
voracious1746
edacious1819
snack1883
desperatea1958
1746 W. Dunkin tr. Horace in P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Epistles i. ii. 34 Circe's Cups..Which with his Mates, voracious of their Woe, If he had blindly tasted [etc.].
1812 Examiner 7 Sept. 571/2 A..most voracious believer he is.
1851 T. Carlyle Life J. Sterling i. iv. 41 A voracious observer and participator in all things he likewise all along was.
1883 Evangelical Mag. Sept. 419 Mr. Rowlands..was a voracious reader.
c. transferred. Of things.
ΚΠ
1767 A. Young Farmer's Lett. 111 He will abhor the practice of sowing so voracious a vegetable after wheat.
1785 W. Cowper Task iv. 450 Twitch'd from the perch, He gives the princely bird, with all his wives, To his voracious bag.
2.
a. Characterized by voracity or greediness. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > appetite > [adjective] > having (good) appetite > greedy or voracious > of appetite or stomach
greedy1526
ostrich1598
caninal1599
canine1609
voracious1635
angry1673
peckish1714
1635 J. Taylor Olde, Old Man sig. C3v All Creatures are Made for mans use, and may by Man be us'd, Not by voratious Gluttony abus'd.
1720 R. Welton tr. T. Alvares de Andrade Sufferings Son of God II. xxvii. 709 This Miscreant thought of nothing else but how to glut his Voracious Appetite.
1800 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 3 62 He had such a voracious appetite that he would take with indifference either medicine or food.
1875 Chambers's Jrnl. 2 Jan. 45/2 [The snail's] appetite is as voracious as its means of indulging it are perfect.
b. figurative. Of desires, interests, etc.: Insatiable.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > wish or inclination > desire > uneasy or restless desire > [adjective] > unsatisfied > insatiable
unfillinga1300
unfillablea1340
unsatiable1382
insatiablea1420
insaturablec1425
unstanchable1426
insatiate1509
unsatiate1528
unsaturable1535
unquenchable1538
unsatisfiable1539
quenchless1557
unpleasable1561
inexpleble1569
slakeless1596
abarstic1623
sateless1628
unexpliable1658
voracious1712
omnivorous1791
unslakable1820
appeaseless1837
unsatable1850
'satiable1900
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 452. ¶5 They have a Relish for every thing that is News, let the matter of it be what it will; or, to speak more properly, they are Men of a Voracious Appetite, but no Taste.
1852 H. Rogers Ess. (1874) I. vii. 342 He took revenge for his transient fit of scepticism by a subsequent most voracious dogmatism.
a1854 H. Reed Lect. Brit. Poets (1857) II. x. 22 His appetite for argument was as voracious as his physical appetite.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1920; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1635