1
Core quality
Having an extremely eager, intense, and difficult-to-satisfy appetite for food, knowledge, or an activity.
Example
A voracious reader, she finished several books each week.
voracious
/vəˈreɪʃəs/ · vuh-RAY-shusadjective
Having an extremely eager, intense, and difficult-to-satisfy appetite for food, knowledge, or an activity.
Use voracious to express this relationship precisely: having an extremely eager, intense, and difficult-to-satisfy appetite for food, knowledge, or an activity.
What voracious Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Attributive or predicative use
Use this adjective before a suitable noun or after a linking verb such as be or seem.
Example
The species is a voracious predator of smaller insects.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact descriptive quality matters; a related word may overlap without conveying the same trait.
Example
The industry has a voracious appetite for energy.
Use voracious Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
A voracious reader, she finished several books each week.
The species is a voracious predator of smaller insects.
The industry has a voracious appetite for energy.
Precision Matters
Voracious overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
voracious
vs.Means having an extremely eager, intense, and difficult-to-satisfy appetite for food, knowledge, or an activity.
copious
Means abundant or plentiful in quantity.
voracious
vs.Means having an extremely eager, intense, and difficult-to-satisfy appetite for food, knowledge, or an activity.
frugal
Means careful and economical in the use of money, materials, or resources.
voracious
vs.Means having an extremely eager, intense, and difficult-to-satisfy appetite for food, knowledge, or an activity.
austere
Means severe or strict in manner; lacking luxury.
voracious
vs.Means having an extremely eager, intense, and difficult-to-satisfy appetite for food, knowledge, or an activity.
insatiable
Means impossible or extremely difficult to satisfy, especially because a desire or appetite continually demands more.
Test voracious in Context
His desire to read is exceptionally eager and difficult to satisfy.
1
His ___ appetite for books led him to read every volume in the small library.