ravenous

English

Etymology

Borrowing from Old French ravineus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɹævənəs/

Adjective

ravenous (comparative more ravenous, superlative most ravenous)

1. Very hungry.
   • 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest:

     The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite. There is something humiliating about it.

2. (Can we clean up⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) Eager for prey or gratification.
   • 1843, Thomas Carlyle, Past and Present, book 3, ch. IX, Working Aristocracy

     Supply-and-demand? One begins to be weary of such work. Leave all to egoism, to ravenous greed of money, of pleasure, of applause: — it is the Gospel of Despair!

Derived terms

• ravenously
• ravenousness

Synonyms

• starving (colloquial, figuratively)
• See also Wikisaurus:voracious

Translations

very hungry

• Catalan: famèlic
• Czech: vyhladovělý m
• Dutch: uitgehongerd (nl)
• Finnish: sudennälkäinen
• French: affamé (fr), vorace (fr)
• German: gefräßig, ausgehungert (de), heißhungrig
• Irish: cíocrach, aimirneach
• Italian: famelico (it) m, affamato (it) m

• Maori: warawara, whakapakari
• Polish: zachłanny (pl), żarłoczny (pl)
• Portuguese: faminto (pt) m
• Russian: изголодавшийся (ru) (izgolodavšijsja)
• Scottish Gaelic: gionach, craosach
• Spanish: famélico (es)
• Swedish: svulten (sv)

eager for prey or gratification

• Finnish: ahne (fi)

• Scottish Gaelic: gionach

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Bulgarian: изгладня́л (bg) (izgladnjál)
• Icelandic: banhungraður m, soltinn m, glorhungraður m

• Spanish: famélico (es)

See also

• voracious