Synonym Chooser

How is the word voracious different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of voracious are gluttonous, rapacious, and ravenous. While all these words mean "excessively greedy," voracious applies especially to habitual gorging with food or drink.

teenagers are often voracious eaters

When could gluttonous be used to replace voracious?

In some situations, the words gluttonous and voracious are roughly equivalent. However, gluttonous applies to one who delights in eating or acquiring things especially beyond the point of necessity or satiety.

an admiral who was gluttonous for glory

When can rapacious be used instead of voracious?

While the synonyms rapacious and voracious are close in meaning, rapacious often suggests excessive and utterly selfish acquisitiveness or avarice.

rapacious developers indifferent to environmental concerns

When might ravenous be a better fit than voracious?

While in some cases nearly identical to voracious, ravenous implies excessive hunger and suggests violent or grasping methods of dealing with food or with whatever satisfies an appetite.

a nation with a ravenous lust for territorial expansion

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of voracious Lieblich is a voracious language hound: In their hands words are a kind of silly putty, malleable and sticky, fungible and fun. Sara Holdren, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2025 State of play: Sea otters are voracious predators of purple sea urchins. Kale Williams, Axios, 29 Jan. 2025 What’s different in 2025 is the tech sector’s voracious appetite for power translating into a willingness to pay a premium for nuclear. Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 23 Feb. 2025 People involved in Bregman’s off-field pursuits describe his involvement in an almost identical way to his baseball life, a voracious participant who immerses himself in every facet of the endeavor. Chandler Rome, The Athletic, 12 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for voracious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for voracious
Adjective
  • When Sue becomes greedy with her time, exceeding seven days on the outside, Elisabeth suffers the consequences, and things take a dark and twisted turn.
    Samantha Stutsman, People.com, 3 Mar. 2025
  • Forget the greedy streamers: leave the job of filmmaking to people who care, to people like Corbet and Eisenberg, Fargeat and Zilbalodis.
    Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • An avid dancer and photographer, Dondé likes to incorporate his artistic passions into his bar offerings, often naming creative libations after his most beloved tunes and entertainers.
    Kristin Tablang, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2025
  • Walt Disney and Skiing Disney was a rather avid sports fan.
    Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Poles needs to find difference-makers, nasty offensive linemen, game-wrecking defensive linemen, ravenous pass rushers … again, the Bears have a lot of needs.
    Jon Greenberg, The Athletic, 26 Feb. 2025
  • Nonnative invasive species and ravenous deer are killing the nearby trees that are necessary to feed and provide homes for future generations of beavers.
    Carl R. Gold, Baltimore Sun, 19 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Create awesome emails that make your dream customers excited to open, ready to buy.
    Jodie Cook, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2025
  • The prospect of an electric AMG supercar is something worth getting excited about.
    Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 4 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • And in 2023, Jimmy Kimmel anticipated that his audience might be hungry, and stashed snacks underneath their seats (with attendant donations to the L.A. Food Bank).
    Justine Fisher, People.com, 26 Feb. 2025
  • Chelsea’s ownership viewed them all as young, smart, hungry, motivated people at the right point of their respective career arcs.
    Liam Twomey, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the U.S. and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing for national security.
    Rob Gillies, Chicago Tribune, 6 Mar. 2025
  • Businesses weren’t hiring as much, folks weren’t as eager to quit and those without jobs were staying on the sidelines for longer.
    Alicia Wallace, CNN, 6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The crypto space had reason to be enthusiastic following the election of President Trump, who largely embraced the sector.
    JJ Kinahan, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
  • At two years of age, Jiggs, a persistent and enthusiastic deer runner, was banished from the pack.
    Frank C. Hibben, Outdoor Life, 27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • In just a month, the Trump administration’s assault on the federal workforce has managed to push even an ardent reformer like Jones to surrender.
    Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 27 Feb. 2025
  • For over a century, every global crisis has sparked a debate in the United States between two classical schools of geopolitical thought, pitting idealists, ardent supporters of foreign intervention, against realists, who mistrust lofty crusades.
    Neil MacFarquhar, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Voracious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/voracious. Accessed 11 Mar. 2025.

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