greed (gr d)n. An excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth: "Many . . . attach to competition the stigma of selfish greed" (Henry Fawcett). [Back-formation from greedy.] |
greed [griːd]
n
1. excessive consumption of or desire for food; gluttony
2. excessive desire, as for wealth or power
[back formation from greedy]
greedless adj
greed (grid)
n.
excessive or rapacious desire, esp. for wealth or possessions; avarice; covetousness.
[1600–10; back formation from greedy]
greed′less, adj.
greed′some, adj.
Greed
See Also: EATING AND DRINKING, ENVY
- (My) avarice cooled like lust in the chill grave —Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Avarice is like a graveyard; it takes all that it can get and gives nothing back —Josh Billings
- Avaricious … like a pig which seeks its food in the mud, without caring where it comes from —Jean B. M. Vianney
- The avaricious man is like the barren sandy ground of the desert which sucks in all the rain and dew with greediness, but yields no fruitful herbs or plants for the benefit of others —Zeno
- Covetous persons are like sponges which greedily drink in water, but return very little until they are squeezed —G. S. Bowles
- Greedy as a colt first loosed to pasture in the spring —Ben Ames Williams
- Greedy as a vulture —Tobias Smollett
- He [Donald Trump] has an appetite [for property] like a Rocky Mountain vulture —Alan Greenberg, Wall Street Journal, April 1, 1987
- Kings, like hyenas, will always fall upon dead carcasses, although their bellies are full, and although they are conscious that in the end they will tear one another to pieces over them —Walter Savage Landor
- (Love surfeits not) lust like a glutton dies —William Shakespeare
- Rapacious as a crocodile —Anon
- Rapacious as a warlord —Sharon Sheehe Stark
- Sucked him dry like a raw egg —Bertold Brecht
- They’re [the doctors] milking you like a cow —Molière
Thesaurus Legend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. |  greed - excessive desire to acquire or possess more (especially more material wealth) than one needs or deservesdesire - an inclination to want things; "a man of many desires" possessiveness - excessive desire to possess or dominate acquisitiveness - strong desire to acquire and possess |
| 2. |  greed - reprehensible acquisitiveness; insatiable desire for wealth (personified as one of the deadly sins)deadly sin, mortal sin - an unpardonable sin entailing a total loss of grace; "theologians list seven mortal sins" |
greed greediness
noun
1. gluttony, voracity, insatiableness, ravenousness He ate too much out of sheer greed.
2. avarice, longing, desire, hunger, craving, eagerness, selfishness, acquisitiveness, rapacity, cupidity, covetousness, insatiableness an insatiable greed for power
avarice generosity, altruism, benevolence, self-restraint, unselfishness, munificence, largesse or largess
avarice generosity, altruism, benevolence, self-restraint, unselfishness, munificence, largesse or largess
Quotations
"There is enough in the world for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed" [Frank Buchman Remaking the World]
"There is enough in the world for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed" [Frank Buchman Remaking the World]
Proverbs
"The more you get, the more you want"
"The pitcher will go to the well once too often"
"The more you get, the more you want"
"The pitcher will go to the well once too often"
Translations
greed
n → Gier f (→ for nach +dat); (for material wealth also) → Habsucht f, → Habgier f; (= gluttony) → Gefräßigkeit f; greed for money/power → Geld-/Machtgier f
greed [griːd] n greed (for) (for money, power) → avidità (di), desiderio smodato (di); (for food) (also greediness) → golosità (per), ingordigia (di)
a (too) great desire for food, money etc. Eating five cakes is just sheer greed.
ˈgreedy adjectiveˈgreedily adverb
ˈgreediness noun
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