Word of the Day: Ravenous

Imagine you spend the entire day hiking in the woods or playing a long soccer game under the sun. By the time you get home, your stomach is growling loudly. You feel like you could eat everything in the kitchen. This extreme, intense hunger is what we call being ravenous. It is much stronger than just being "hungry". It describes a feeling of being completely starved and needing food immediately. Sometimes, it can even describe a deep "hunger" for things like books or power. In this article, we'll take a look at the meaning, history, and usage of this energetic word.

What is Ravenous? Meaning and Definition

'Ravenous' is used to describe someone who is extremely hungry. When you are ravenous, you aren't just looking for a small snack; you want a full, large meal. It is a very strong word that suggests a person is "famished" or "starving".

Interestingly, the word can also be used in a "figurative" way. This means you can be ravenous for things other than food. For example, a "ravenous reader" is someone who reads books very quickly because they love stories.

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Ravenous Origin & Etymology

The history of "ravenous" is quite exciting and a little bit wild. It comes from the Old French word "raviner", which meant to take something by force, to rob, or to pillage. This is the same root that gave us the word "ravish" and even "ravine" (a place where rushing water "robs" the earth of its soil).

Back in the 1300s, when the word first entered English, it was mostly used to describe wild animals. People used it to talk about wolves or lions that were hunting and "plundering" for food.

Because these animals looked so desperate and fierce while hunting, the word began to describe that specific type of intense hunger. Over hundreds of years, we stopped using it to mean "robbing" and started using it to describe the feeling of our stomachs being completely empty.

How To Use Ravenous in a Sentence

Using "ravenous" is a great way to add more emotion to your writing. Instead of saying you are "very hungry", saying you are "ravenous" helps the reader feel how urgent your hunger really is. 

1. Examples: I was ravenous after the three-hour swim practice.
2. The ravenous bears searched the forest for berries and fish.
3. After skipping breakfast, he felt ravenous by lunchtime.
4. She is a ravenous student who spends all her time in the library.
5. The campers were ravenous and ate their stew in record time.
6. A ravenous appetite is common for athletes after a big game.
7. The stray cat looked ravenous, so we gave it some milk.
8. We were so ravenous that even the plain bread tasted amazing.
9. Being ravenous makes it very hard to focus on your homework.
10. The king was ravenous for power and wanted to rule more lands.

What Are The Synonyms and Antonyms of Ravenous?

These words help you distinguish between needing a snack and being completely full.

Synonyms (Similar Words):

• Famished: Extremely hungry; starving.
• Voracious: Wanting or devouring great quantities of food.
• Insatiable: Impossible to satisfy (often used for hunger or curiosity).
• Starving: Suffering or dying from hunger.

Antonyms (Opposite Words):

• Satiated: Satisfied to the full; sated.
• Full: Containing or holding as much as possible; having eaten enough.
• Gorged: Having eaten a large amount greedily.
• Content: Happy and satisfied with what one has.

Did You Know?

Even though it sounds like the bird is called a "Raven," the word "ravenous" actually has nothing to do with them. Ravens are very smart birds, and they do have big appetites, but the word for "hunger" comes from "robbing", while the bird's name comes from an old word for "croaking".