Make Your Point: AVARICE & AVARICIOUS

Make Your Point > Archived Issues > AVARICE & AVARICIOUS

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pronounce AVARICIOUS:

av uh RISH us

connect this word to others:

Avaricious people are greedy, grasping, covetous, hoarding, money-grubbing, even ra____ous ("extremely greedy in a way that preys on other people").

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

The words "avarice" (the noun) and "avaricious" (the adjective) are hundreds of years old in English. They trace back to the Latin avere, meaning "to crave, to be eager for."

People with avarice, or avaricious people, are greedy: deeply, heartlessly greedy. They want to hoard things, way more things than they need, and they don't care how their behavior hurts others.

In other words, to be avaricious is to be greedy in a cruel, selfish way.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Adjective: "an avaricious villain;" "The villain is avaricious."

Other forms:

The noun is "avarice," pronounced "AV uh riss." Hear it.

If you need an adverb, it's "avariciously," as in "The dragon glared avariciously" or "They charge avariciously high fees."

how to use it:

Pick the formal, semi-common word "avaricious" when you want to strike a negative, judgmental tone as you describe someone whose greed never ends.

Talk about avaricious people, characters, politicians, empires, lawyers, lenders, oil barons, tech companies, insurance providers, pharmaceutical giants, etc.

To use the noun, "avarice," talk about someone's avarice, or say that someone is known for avarice, or is acting out of avarice, or is getting called out for avarice.

examples:

"Mr. Volcker never lost his distaste for bankers, whom he often criticized as avaricious and fond of risk-taking at the public's expense."
— Binyamin Appelbaum and Robert D. Hershey Jr., New York Times, 9 December 2019

"The NC Pork Council, a trade group funded by commercial hog operations, has blamed the lawsuits on avaricious attorneys who 'like to sue farmers for as much money as possible.'"
— Erica Hellerstein and Ken Fine, The Guardian, 20 September 2017

has this page helped you understand "avaricious"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "avaricious" without saying "acquisitive" or "money-hoarding."

try it out:

On Star Trek, the most avaricious characters are the Ferengi, a people who constantly reference their Rules of Acquisition.

Such as:

Rule #1: "Once you have their money, you never give it back."

Rule #3: "Never spend more for an acquisition than you have to."

Rule #6: "Never allow family to stand in the way of opportunity."

Rule #17: "A contract is a contract is a contract… but only between Ferengi."

Rule #21: "Never place friendship above profit."

Rule #98: "Every man has his price."

Rule #190: "Hear all, trust nothing."

Rule #289?: "Shoot first, count profits later."

Rule #?: "A man is only worth the sum of his possessions."

Talk about which rule above you find most disgustingly avaricious, and why. Or, talk about which rule you find the least avaricious, and why it seems more fair or logical than truly avaricious.

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is "What Are You Implying?"

Build your word-finding muscle as you reach for synonyms for various implications.

For example, what's a synonym for "living thing" that
1. ...implies that someone made it?
2. ...implies that it simply exists?
3. ...implies that it has an intangible essence?

Your answers could be 1. "creature," 2. "being," and 3. "soul."

Try these today:

What's a synonym for "dangerous" that
1. ...implies that something puts you in a state of high alert?
2. ...implies that something could easily hurt you if you're not careful?
3. ...implies that something could end your life?

To see some possible answers, scroll all the way down.

review this word:

1. A near opposite of AVARICIOUS is

A. GRIM.
B. GENEROUS.
C. GROUNDED.

2. In Joseph Heller's Catch-22, a character _____ "with avaricious zest."

A. grabs a microphone
B. rubs his hands together
C. offers a plate piled high with food

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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