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greed

Greed is an overwhelming urge to have more of something, usually more than you really need. Watching kids at a birthday party furiously grabbing for candy from a piñata, you might find yourself surprised at their greed.

Greed is often connected with money, a desire to acquire as much of it as possible, but it can refer to that kind of urge toward anything, like food or material possessions. When you see greed, it's an ugly thing, whether you're observing a greedy person or the greed of a huge company that treats its workers badly in order to make more money. Greed comes from the Old English grædig, or "voracious," which means "always hungry for more."

DEFINITIONS OF: greed

1

n reprehensible acquisitiveness; insatiable desire for wealth (personified as one of the deadly sins)

Synonyms:
avarice, avaritia, covetousness, rapacity
Type of:
deadly sin, mortal sin
an unpardonable sin entailing a total loss of grace

n excessive desire to acquire or possess more (especially more material wealth) than one needs or deserves

Types:
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avarice, avariciousness, covetousness, cupidity
extreme greed for material wealth
possessiveness
excessive desire to possess or dominate
acquisitiveness
strong desire to acquire and possess
bibliomania
preoccupation with the acquisition and possession of books
retentiveness, retentivity
the property of retaining possessions that have been acquired
Type of:
desire
an inclination to want things
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