[vo.ra.cious] adj [L vorac-, vorax, fr. vorare to devour; akin to OE acweorran to guzzle, L gurges whirlpool, Gk bibroskein to devour] (1635) 1: having a huge appetite: ravenous
2: excessively eager: insatiable "a ~ reader" -- vo.ra.cious.ly adv -- vo.ra.cious.ness n syn voracious, gluttonous, ravenous, rapacious mean excessively greedy. voracious applies esp. to habitual gorging with food or drink "teenagers are often voracious eaters". gluttonous applies to one who delights in eating or acquiring things esp. beyond the point of necessity or satiety "an admiral who was gluttonous for glory". 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". rapacious often suggests excessive and utterly selfish acquisitiveness or avarice "rapacious developers indifferent to environmental concerns".