The Wordsmith Dictionary

Greed "y, a. [Compar. Greedier (-î-er ); superl. Greediest.] Etym: [OE. gredi, AS. grdig, grdig; akin to D. gretig, OS. grdag, OHG. grtag, Dan. graadig, OSw. gradig, grdig, Icel. graugr, Goth. grdags greedy, grdn to be hungry; cf. Skr. grdh to be greedy. Cf. Greed. ]

1. Having a keen appetite for food or drink; ravenous; voracious; very hungry; -- followed by of; as, a lion that is greedy of his prey.

2. Having a keen desire for anything; vehemently desirous; eager to obtain; avaricious; as, greedy of gain.

GREEDY-GUT

GREEDY-GUT Greed "y-gut ", n.

Defn: A glutton. [Low ] Todd.

New American Oxford Dictionary

greed

greed |grēd ɡrid | ▶noun intense and selfish desire for something, esp. wealth, power, or food. ORIGIN late 16th cent.: back-formation from greedy .

greedy

greed y |ˈgrēdē ˈɡridi | ▶adjective ( greedier, greediest ) having or showing an intense and selfish desire for something, esp. wealth or power: greedy thieves who plundered a defense contractor. • having an excessive desire or appetite for food. DERIVATIVES greed i ly |-dəlē |adverb, greed i ness noun ORIGIN Old English grǣdig, of Germanic origin.

Oxford Dictionary

greed

greed |griːd | ▶noun [ mass noun ] intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food. ORIGIN late 16th cent.: back-formation from greedy .

greedy

greedy |ˈgriːdi | ▶adjective ( greedier, greediest ) having an excessive desire or appetite for food: he's scoffed the lot, the greedy pig. • having or showing an intense and selfish desire for wealth or power: people driven from their land by greedy developers. DERIVATIVES greedily adverb, greediness noun ORIGIN Old English grǣdig, of Germanic origin.

American Oxford Thesaurus

greed, greediness

greed, greediness noun 1 human greed: avarice, cupidity, acquisitiveness, covetousness, rapacity; materialism, mercenariness; rare pleonexia; informal money-grubbing, affluenza. ANTONYMS generosity. 2 her mouth watered with greed: gluttony, hunger, voracity, insatiability; gourmandism, intemperance, overeating, self-indulgence; informal piggishness. ANTONYMS temperance. 3 their greed for power: desire, appetite, hunger, thirst, craving, longing, lust, yearning, hankering; avidity, eagerness; informal yen, itch. ANTONYMS indifference. WORD NOTE pleonexia An ancient word for a contemporary condition. Where pleonexia does the linguistic work that simple greed or avarice does not, is in its diagnosis of a covetousness that is not healthy, that is abnormal. It is a word that needs to be added to the more harmless terms with which we describe the modern consumer. Pleonexia is a heightened and unhealthy condition, as anorexia is the pathological extremity of a brand of asceticism. There is need, then there is desire, then there is greed, and then there is pleonexia. — ZS Conversational, opinionated, and idiomatic, these Word Notes are an opportunity to see a working writer's perspective on a particular word or usage.

greedy

greedy adjective 1 a greedy eater: gluttonous, ravenous, voracious, intemperate, self-indulgent, insatiable, wolfish; informal piggish, piggy. 2 a greedy capitalist: avaricious, acquisitive, covetous, grasping, materialistic, mercenary, possessive; informal money-grubbing, money-grabbing, grabby. 3 she is greedy for an award: eager, avid, hungry, craving, longing, yearning, hankering; impatient, anxious; informal dying, itching. CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD greedy, acquisitive, covetous, avaricious, rapacious, gluttonous The desire for money and the things it can buy is often associated with Americans. But not all Americans are greedy, which implies an insatiable desire to possess or acquire something, beyond what one needs or deserves (greedy for profits ). Someone who is greedy for food might be called gluttonous, which emphasizes consumption as well as desire (a gluttonous appetite for sweets ), but greedy is a derogatory term only when the object of longing is itself evil or when it cannot be possessed without harm to oneself or others (a reporter greedy for information ). A greedy child may grow up to be an avaricious adult, which implies a fanatical greediness for money or other valuables. Rapacious is an even stronger term, with an emphasis on taking things by force (so rapacious in his desire for land that he forced dozens of families from their homes ). Acquisitive, on the other hand, is a more neutral word suggesting a willingness to exert effort in acquiring things (an acquisitive woman who filled her house with antiques and artwork ), and not necessarily material things (a probing, acquisitive mind ). Covetous, in contrast to acquisitive, implies an intense desire for something as opposed to the act of acquiring or possessing it. It is often associated with the Ten Commandments (Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife ) and suggests a longing for something that rightfully belongs to another. These notes show fine distinctions in meaning between closely related synonyms to help you find the best word.

Oxford Thesaurus

greed, greediness

greed, greediness noun 1 wasting resources in order to satisfy human greed: avarice, acquisitiveness, covetousness, rapacity, graspingness, cupidity, avidity, possessiveness, materialism; mercenariness, predatoriness; informal money-grubbing, money-grabbing; N. Amer. informal grabbiness; rare Mammonism, pleonexia. ANTONYMS generosity. 2 her mouth began to water with unashamed greed: gluttony, hunger, ravenousness, voraciousness, voracity, insatiability; gourmandizing, gourmandism; intemperance, overeating, self-indulgence; informal swinishness, piggishness, hoggishness, gutsiness; rare edacity, esurience. ANTONYMS temperance, asceticism. 3 he appealed to their greed for power: desire, urge, need, appetite, hunger, craving, longing, yearning, hankering, hungering, thirst, pining; avidity, eagerness, enthusiasm, impatience; informal yen, itch. ANTONYMS indifference.

greedy

greedy adjective 1 a greedy eater: gluttonous, ravenous, ravening, voracious, gourmandizing, gourmand, intemperate, self-indulgent, insatiable, insatiate, wolfish, gannet-like; informal piggish, piggy, swinish, hoggish, gutsy; rare esurient, edacious; (be greedy ) have eyes bigger than one's stomach; black English have a /the big eye. ANTONYMS temperate, ascetic. 2 a greedy millionaire: avaricious, acquisitive, covetous, rapacious, grasping, venal, cupidinous, materialistic, mercenary, predatory, usurious, possessive; grabbing, hoarding, Scrooge-like; informal money-grubbing, money-grabbing; N. Amer. informal grabby; rare pleonectic, Mammonish, Mammonistic. ANTONYMS generous, altruistic. 3 she is greedy for a title: eager, avid, hungry, craving, longing, yearning, hankering, thirsty, pining, enthusiastic, impatient, anxious; desirous of; informal dying, itching, hot, gagging. ANTONYMS indifferent.

Sanseido Wisdom Dictionary

greed

greed /ɡriːd /〖greedyからの逆形成〗名詞 U ｟非難して｠ «…に対する » 欲深さ, 貪欲 ; 食い意地 «for » ▸ a man driven by greed for money 金の亡者 .

greedhead

gr é ed h è ad 名詞 C ｟米俗｠欲張りなやつ, 強欲人間 .

greedily

greed i ly /ɡríːdɪli /副詞貪欲に ; むさぼるように〈飲む食うなど〉.

greedy

greed y /ɡríːdi /〖語源は「空腹の」〗形容詞 -ier ; -iest 1 食い意地の張った, がつがつした ▸ drink the wine in greedy gulps ワインを一気に飲み干す .2 «…に対して » 欲深い, 貪欲な «for » ; 〖be ～〗〈人が〉 «…を /…することを » 切望する «for , of /to do » ▸ greedy eyes 貪欲そうな [物欲しげな ]目つき ▸ Greedy pig! この欲ぼけ野郎 .gr é ed i ness 名詞 U 貪欲さ .