covetous

covetous
adjective Date: 13th century 1. marked by inordinate desire for wealth or possessions or for another's possessions 2. having a craving for possession <
covetous of power
>
covetously adverbcovetousness noun Synonyms: covetous, greedy, acquisitive, grasping, avaricious mean having or showing a strong desire for especially material possessions. covetous implies inordinate desire often for another's possessions <
covetous of his brother's country estate
>
. greedy stresses lack of restraint and often of discrimination in desire <
greedy for status symbols
>
. acquisitive implies both eagerness to possess and ability to acquire and keep <
an eagerly acquisitive mind
>
. grasping adds to covetous and greedy an implication of selfishness and often suggests unfair or ruthless means <
a hard grasping trader who cheated the natives
>
. avaricious implies obsessive acquisitiveness especially of money and strongly suggests stinginess <
an avaricious miser
>
.

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?
Synonyms:
, (usually in a bad sense, though sometimes in a good sense), , , ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • covetous — covetous, greedy, acquisitive, grasping, avaricious mean having or manifesting a strong desire for possessions, especially material possessions. Covetous implies inordinateness of desire; very often, with allusion to the Ten Commandments, it… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Covetous — Cov et*ous (k?v ?t ?s), a. [OF. coveitos, F. convoiteux. See {Covet}, v. t.] 1. Very desirous; eager to obtain; used in a good sense. [Archaic] [1913 Webster] Covetous of wisdom and fair virtue. Shak. [1913 Webster] Covetous death bereaved us all …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • covetous — mid 13c., from O.Fr. coveitos (12c., Mod.Fr. convoiteux) desirous, covetous, from V.L. *cupiditosus, from L. cupiditas (see COVET (Cf. covet)). Related: Covetousness …   Etymology dictionary

  • covetous — index eager, illiberal, insatiable, jealous, mercenary Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • covetous — [adj] greedy; very desirous acquisitive, avaricious, avid, close fisted, eager, ensurient, envious, gluttonous, grabby, grasping, green eyed*, grudging, hogging, itchy*, jealous, keen, mercenary, piggish*, prehensile, rapacious, ravenous, selfish …   New thesaurus

  • covetous — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ longing to possess something. DERIVATIVES covetously adverb covetousness noun …   English terms dictionary

  • covetous — [kuv′ət əs] adj. [ME coveitous < OFr] tending to covet; greedy; avaricious SYN. GREEDY covetously adv. covetousness n …   English World dictionary

  • covetous — [[t]kʌ̱vɪtəs[/t]] ADJ GRADED (disapproval) A covetous person has a strong desire to possess something, especially something that belongs to another person. [FORMAL] Even here a red Lamborghini Diablo sports car attracts covetous stares …   English dictionary

  • covetous — adj. covetous of * * * [ kʌvɪtəs] covetousof …   Combinatory dictionary

  • covetous — cov|et|ous [ˈkʌvıtəs] adj formal having a very strong desire to have something that someone else has ▪ They began to cast covetous eyes on their neighbours fields. >covetously adv >covetousness n [U] …   Dictionary of contemporary English

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”