Synonym Chooser

How is the word gluttonous different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of gluttonous are rapacious, ravenous, and voracious. While all these words mean "excessively greedy," gluttonous applies to one who delights in eating or acquiring things especially beyond the point of necessity or satiety.

an admiral who was gluttonous for glory

Where would rapacious be a reasonable alternative to gluttonous?

The words rapacious and gluttonous can be used in similar contexts, but rapacious often suggests excessive and utterly selfish acquisitiveness or avarice.

rapacious developers indifferent to environmental concerns

When could ravenous be used to replace gluttonous?

While in some cases nearly identical to gluttonous, 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

When is it sensible to use voracious instead of gluttonous?

The synonyms voracious and gluttonous are sometimes interchangeable, but voracious applies especially to habitual gorging with food or drink.

teenagers are often voracious eaters

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 gluttonous Gets Surprise Company Woman Leaves Chicken Breast Out To Defrost, Cat Seizes His Opportunity While dogs are often seen as gluttonous, cats can be just as food-motivated. Jonathan Granoff, Newsweek, 29 Jan. 2025 In this, the second-to-last time Friends would celebrate November’s most gluttonous holiday, Rachel’s obnoxious sister Amy (Christina Applegate) invites herself to Thanksgiving, and the conversation turns to who would get custody of baby Emma if Rachel and Ross died. Brian Boone, Vulture, 15 Nov. 2024 For his part, Handel—a generally agreeable though fiercely proud man, witty and gluttonous and gouty, and given to polylingual swearing—was probably indifferent to such political and sectarian matters. Jan Swafford, The Atlantic, 29 Oct. 2024 During the Mid-Autumn Festival, or Moon Festival, celebrated by Chinese around the world on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month each year (September 17 this year), mooncakes are eaten in gluttonous quantities. Michelle Tchea, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Sep. 2024 See All Example Sentences for gluttonous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gluttonous
Adjective
  • Yearning for physical perfection—encouraged by a greedy beauty culture intent on feeding it—is a debilitating waste of energy.
    Valerie Monroe, Allure, 28 Mar. 2025
  • In 1545, Spanish colonizers greedy for precious metals established a mining town named Potosí in current-day Bolivia, more than 13,000 feet high, at the foot of a mountain that was rumored to be made of silver.
    Tim Vernimmen, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Regardless of their general publisher designation, the ravenous architects of Hungry Minds want to be known beyond the world of reading.
    Josh Weiss, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
  • Once everyone had a turn, the tables were opened for ravenous seconds, thirds and fourths, until no crumbs were left behind.
    Simon J. Levien, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The merged generative AI model is bloated and runs extremely slowly, possibly so piggish that using it on everyday tasks is exasperating and imprudent due to enormous delays while processing.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes, 11 Sep. 2024
  • Surrounded by a dysfunctional family and a piggish boss (Stellan Skarsgård), Justine is lonely, exasperated, and seething.
    Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 12 Apr. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Gluttonous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gluttonous. Accessed 11 Apr. 2025.

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