Voracious

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /vɔːˈɹeɪ.ʃəs/

Definitions

1. Having an intense and eager appetite or desire that leads to consuming or pursuing something with great enthusiasm
2. Showing a strong and insatiable hunger or craving, often for food, knowledge, or other pursuits
3. Characterized by an overwhelming eagerness or greediness in wanting or obtaining something

Etymology: "Voracious" comes from Latin "vorax," meaning "greedy" or "devouring," built from the verb "vorare," "to swallow whole" or "devour." The English word grew from that root in the Latin of ancient Rome, but its ending is English. Latin "vorax" was joined to the English suffix "-acious," which marks adjectives of abundance, so "voracious" literally describes something full of devouring tendencies. The English form appeared in the 17th century, when writers were borrowing many learned words directly from Latin. The "vor-" root is ancient. It descends from a prehistoric ancestor shared with words for swallowing and gulping across many European and Indian languages, and it is linked to the same family that gives English "gorge" and "gullet" through separate routes. Those connections are older than Latin itself, so the vocabulary of eating and swallowing has been remarkably stable over thousands of years.

Synonyms: insatiable, gluttonous, ravenous, greedy, hungry

Antonyms: satisfied, full, content, moderate, restrained