devour means to eat quickly, greedily, hungrily, or ravenously.
devour is pronounced /dɪˈvaʊə(ɹ)/.
Why “devour” is a great word
To consume something, especially food, quickly and greedily; or, by extension, to destroy, engulf, or absorb something completely and avidly. From Middle English *devouren*, from Old French *devorer*, from Latin *dēvorō* ('to swallow down, devour'), from *dē-* ('down') + *vorō* ('to swallow, eat greedily'), first recorded in English 1275–1325. Unlike 'consume' (a neutral term for eating or using up, lacking the intensity of greed) or 'engulf' (which implies being surrounded or covered by an external force), to *devour* names the active, ravenous agent. It is the wolf working the haunch of a deer in three desperate bites, the reader finishing a novel in a single fevered night, the fire eating through a wooden barn with a sound like rushing water—the pure and terrible expression of a need that annihilates what it feeds upon.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English devouren, from Old French devorer (Modern French dévorer), from Latin dēvorō, from vorō.
verb
- To eat quickly, greedily, hungrily, or ravenously.e.g.“Once constituted, capital reproduces itself faster than output increases. The past devours the future.”
- To rapidly destroy, engulf, or lay waste.e.g.“The fire was devouring the building.”
- To take in avidly with the intellect or with one's gaze.e.g.“She intended to devour the book.”
- To absorb or engross the mind fully, especially in a destructive manner.e.g.“After the death of his wife, he was devoured by grief.”
- Synonym of eat: to be very good at something; to slay.e.g.“She devoured! She left no crumbs!”
Words closest in meaning
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