Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective acquisitive differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of acquisitive are avaricious, covetous, grasping, and greedy. While all these words mean "having or showing a strong desire for especially material possessions," acquisitive implies both eagerness to possess and ability to acquire and keep.

an eagerly acquisitive mind

When could avaricious be used to replace acquisitive?

While in some cases nearly identical to acquisitive, avaricious implies obsessive acquisitiveness especially of money and strongly suggests stinginess.

an avaricious miser

When would covetous be a good substitute for acquisitive?

While the synonyms covetous and acquisitive are close in meaning, covetous implies inordinate desire often for another's possessions.

covetous of his brother's country estate

How does the word grasping relate to other synonyms for acquisitive?

Grasping adds to covetous and greedy an implication of selfishness and often suggests unfair or ruthless means.

a hard grasping businesswoman who cheated her associates

When might greedy be a better fit than acquisitive?

The synonyms greedy and acquisitive are sometimes interchangeable, but greedy stresses lack of restraint and often of discrimination in desire.

greedy for status symbols

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of acquisitive In a year of severe economic headwinds, being shrewdly acquisitive with its majority stakes paid off for STV, which runs a channels business, digital biz and the STV Studios productions arm. Max Goldbart, Deadline, 11 Mar. 2025 Wiseman’s documentaries won’t ever earn blockbuster money or inspire franchises, the mark of success in the film world, and there’s no merch to purchase or brand sponsorship tickling the acquisitive part of your brain. Alissa Wilkinson, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2025 Meanwhile, Federation rivals ITV Studios and Fremantle are both rumored to be on the block, while Banijay remains acquisitive and newer players like North Road are part of this evolving conversation. Max Goldbart, Deadline, 29 Jan. 2025 Societies around the world have embraced the competitive and acquisitive spirit hardwired into capitalism, without which incomes decline, poverty increases, and technological progress slows. Branko Milanovic, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2019 See All Example Sentences for acquisitive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acquisitive
Adjective
  • Bad guys are selfish, greedy, and prone to speeches.
    John DeVore, Rolling Stone, 31 Mar. 2025
  • Robert Redford delivers folksy wisdom as a local eccentric who once had his own dragon encounter, and even Karl Urban’s greedy logger is more of a nuisance than an outright villain.
    Josh Bell, Vulture, 21 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • And how to be optimally developmental and transactional in an increasingly mercenary environment.
    Vahe Gregorian, Kansas City Star, 13 Mar. 2025
  • The prominent credit-card swiper offers 15 minutes for the high price of $15, and the show follows up on the Gemstones’ mercenary shamelessness later when someone working the telethon phone bank asks for a donor’s routing number.
    Scott Tobias, Vulture, 16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • In many parts of the world, the radical belief in popular sovereignty undid the hold of the notion of the divine right of kings, just as expanding commerce created a wealthy merchant class eager for greater political say.
    Jennifer M. Harris, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
  • The market is eager for trade deals that can help remove some of the worst-case scenarios before the tariffs inflict serious damage on the economy.
    Jeff Marks, CNBC, 22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The comedy-drama follows a Gen Z content creator who returns to her ancestral home seeking viral material, only to encounter her deceased brother’s ghost while dealing with avaricious relatives.
    Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 Apr. 2025
  • This nation state, my home, is built on a quagmire of lies sold to the young as truths; sold to the insecure as truths; sold by the avaricious, the power-hungry, the conceited, the overwhelmingly white and male.
    Christine Winter, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • For a very long time, other nations have been sizing up California with a covetous eye.
    Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2025
  • Those include a daffy retriever, a headstrong capybara, a covetous lemur and a mysterious bird, as well as glimpses of more fantastical creatures.
    Jack Smart, People.com, 5 Jan. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Acquisitive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acquisitive. Accessed 28 Apr. 2025.

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