adjective
ravenous
RA-vuh-nuhs
adjective
1
Extremely hungry.
"After the hike, they were absolutely ravenous."
"The ravenous puppy devoured its food in seconds."
How to Use Ravenous
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishStarving, or having a fierce appetite.
Common mistake
Despite the resemblance, ravenous is not historically connected to the bird raven — that link is just a popular folk association.
Common pairings
ravenous appetite
ravenously hungry
Word Forms
more ravenous comparative, most ravenous superlative
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Etymology
From Old French ravineus, related to a root meaning "predatory" or "plundering" — not actually related to the bird "raven," though people often assume it is.