avarice · noun — excessive or inordinate desire of gain; greed for wealth. It carries an Arena rating of 1558, earned across 8 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, avarice ranks #931 of 17,162 for Most Elegant Words, #2,349 of 17,176 for Most Incisive Words, #2,353 of 17,187 for Most Malleable Words, #4,243 of 17,129 for Most Ponderous Words.
avarice is pronounced /ˈævəɹɪs/.
Why “avarice” is a great word
An excessive or insatiable greed for wealth or material gain. From Old French avarice, from Latin avāritia, from avārus ("greedy"), first recorded in English c. 1300. Unlike "greed," a general hunger for power, food, or sensation, or "frugality," the prudent husbandry of resources, avarice narrows its hollow gaze to coin and property alone. It is the cold clink of gold counted in a lightless room, the dry rustle of banknotes stacked but never spent, the cramped fist that cannot open even in death—the tragedy of a life that confuses having with being.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From Middle English avarice, from Old French, from Latin avāritia, from avārus (“greedy”).
noun
- Excessive or inordinate desire of gain; greed for wealth
- Inordinate desire for some supposed good.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
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