avarice

noun

av·​a·​rice ˈa-və-rəs 

ˈav-rəs

: excessive or insatiable desire for wealth or gain : greediness, cupidity

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Word History of Avarice

A more formal synonym for greed, avarice has a long if uncomplicated history in English. Chaucer in his 14th-century The Parson's Tale compared avarice with covetise, a now obsolete word that means "covetousness" ("Covetise is to covet such things as thou hast not; and avarice is to withhold and keep such things as thou hast, without rightful need"—743), and Shakespeare uses it in Macbeth ("With this there grows / In my most ill-composed affection such / A stanchless avarice that, were I king, / I should cut off the nobles for their lands, / Desire his jewels and this other's house: / And my more-having would be as a sauce / To make me hunger more"—IV.iii.76-82).

Avarice has also appeared in various translations of the Bible, usually in verses that describe the attributes of those who do not follow God, and has historically been listed as one of the seven deadly sins.

Synonyms

• acquisitiveness
• avariciousness
• avidity
• avidness
• covetousness
• cupidity
• graspingness
• greed
• greediness
• mercenariness
• rapaciousness
• rapacity

Examples of avarice in a Sentence

Adherence to the Baldwin model is usually more a sin of thoughtlessness and convenience than of conscious avarice, though it is always an appropriation of moral power, a stealing of thunder. —Shelby Steele, Harper's, November 2002

… a company of artists, among them the young Thomas Nast, seated at rows of desks in a high-ceilinged studio overlooking the avarice and deviltry walking in and out of New York's City Hall. —Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, June 2000

Unlike the rest of us, stuck in our jobs, choking on carbon monoxide, heeling around on overpriced shoes, recovering from a decade of avarice, Chip works and he's tanned and happy. —Peter Wilkinson, Rolling Stone, 11-25 July 1991

Nor was private avarice their besetting sin although they were as subject as most men to the stings of ambition. —Barbara W. Tuchman, The March of Folly, 1984

The corporate world is plagued by avarice and a thirst for power.

He was driven by avarice.

Recent Examples on the Web

People steal out of jealousy, avarice, low self-esteem and peer pressure, while others use it to demonstrate their power and independence. —David Schiffer, Forbes, 9 Oct. 2024

No one is immune from guilt given how ownership and politicians equally drank from the well of avarice. —Wayne G. McDonnell, Jr., Forbes, 26 Sep. 2024

If opportunism is motivating Putin in Ukraine—if the gambit is the product of his imperial avarice to gain Russian control of the country whenever the possibility presented itself—then his decidedly nonopportunistic approach to Ukraine from 2014 to 2021 needs to be explained. —Peter Schroeder, Foreign Affairs, 3 Sep. 2024

Outwardly mild-mannered, Yoshii’s still waters may not run particularly deep, but there are undercurrents of avarice and ego roiling beneath his placid surface, and so when just after his big windfall, his boss at the factory offers him a promotion, Yoshii rather disdainfully quits instead. —Jessica Kiang, Variety, 31 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin avaritia, from avarus avaricious, from avēre to crave — more at avid

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

avarice

noun

av·​a·​rice ˈav-(ə-)rəs 

: strong desire for riches : greed