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To be voracious is to be extremely hungry or greedy. Let's recall some different ways to talk about greed:
1. When we're overly eager to get things for ourselves and keep them, we're being acqu_______.
2. When we're eager to take in or consume anything and everything, we're being, figuratively, omn_______.
3. When we're so greedy that we act like predators as we grab what we want, we're being rap______.
4. And when we're so greedy that we'll accept money to do immoral things, we're ve___.
Which one of those words above, like today's voracious, is based on the Latin root vorare ("to devour")?
make your point with...
"VORACIOUS"
Voracious people and things are very hungry, very greedy, and/or very eager.
Pronunciation:
vore AY shuss
(rhymes with "more gracious")
Part of speech:
Adjective.
(Adjectives are describing words, like "large" or "late."
They can be used in two ways:
1. Right before a noun, as in "a voracious thing" or "a voracious person."
2. After a linking verb, as in "It was voracious" or "He was voracious.")
Other forms:
Voraciously, voracity ("vuh RASS ih dee").
Note: Try not to confuse "voracity" with "veracity." Remember that "voracity" is related to "devour" and "carnivore," while "veracity" is related to "verify."
How to use it:
You can be literal and talk about voracious appetites for Tex-Mex, voracious people getting impatient at a restaurant, voracious predators who gulp food so fast because they fear it'll be taken away, etc.
Or, be more figurative and talk about voracious readers and voracious reading (but be aware that those phrases are becoming cliché), voracious observers and voracious observation, voracious believers, voracious shoppers and consumers, voracious collectors, voracious appetites and desires, voracious scams and markets and systems, and so on.
Just keep in mind that when you use "voracious" to mean, in general, "eager to the point of greed," the word still suggests eating: the voracious reader practically eats her books, the voracious observer practically devours what he sees, etc.
Your tone can range from very gentle ("My child is a voracious collector of stickers") to very harsh ("He won't give up his voracious pursuit of his enemies").
examples:
All the tenth graders loved being in Mrs. Bernstein's classroom because there was plenty to fiddle with: she was a voracious collector of Happy Meal toys.
Unlike his competitors, he has no voracious appetite for profits. He takes on dozens of clients for free and simply finds meaning in his own quiet work.
study it now:
Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "voracious" means when you can explain it without saying "ravenous" or "greedily craving."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) has a voracious desire for (something)."
Example: "Ralphie has a voracious desire for a Red Ryder air rifle."
before you review:
Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first.
Our game this month is called "Cousins or Strangers?"
Consider two pairs of similar-looking words, and figure out which pair are truly related, like cousins, and which pair are unrelated, like strangers. "Related," of course, is a relative concept (ha ha). We're interested in closeness: "compute" and "computer" are sisters, or variations of the same word; "vision" and "video" are cousins, sharing the same Latin root; but "compute" and "video" are strangers.
From our previous issue:
Pair A: DEMON and PANDEMONIUM. These are the cousins. "Pandemonium" literally means "all the demons." We first saw that word in John Milton's Paradise Lost, in 1667, where he defined it as "the high Capital Of Satan and his Peers" as well as the walled "Citie and proud seate Of Lucifer."
Pair B: BARE and BARREN. Although a barren desert is bare, these words are strangers. "Bare" comes from an Old English word meaning "unclothed or uncovered," while "barren" comes from the Old French word for "sterile."
Ready to check out two more pairs? Remember, one pair will be cousins; the other, strangers. Which is which?
Pair A: ABJECT and OBJECT
Pair B: PEN and PENCIL
review today's word:
1. One opposite of VORACIOUS is
A. ABSTEMIOUS
B. MARAUDING
C. VERTIGINOUS
2. He asked what his crush had said about him, _____ the details with the voracity of _____.
A. reveling in .. a Super Bowl champion
B. gobbling up .. a starving wolf
C. wincing at .. wounded puppy
Answers are below.
a final word:
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Disclaimer: Word meanings presented here are expressed in plain language and are limited to common, useful applications only. Readers interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words are encouraged to check a dictionary. Likewise, word meanings, usage, and pronunciations are limited to American English; these elements may vary across world Englishes.
Answers to review questions:
1. A
2. B
To be voracious is to be extremely hungry or greedy. Let's recall some different ways to talk about greed:
"VORACIOUS" Voracious people and things are very hungry, very greedy, and/or very eager. Part of speech:
All the tenth graders loved being in Mrs. Bernstein's classroom because there was plenty to fiddle with: she was a voracious collector of Happy Meal toys.
Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "voracious" means when you can explain it without saying "ravenous" or "greedily craving."
Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) has a voracious desire for (something)."
Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first.
1. One opposite of VORACIOUS is
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com
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