devour

/di'vauə/

Thân thiện

A hungry child devours a large slice of watermelon.

Definition

1. Verb (transitive):
   • To eat something quickly and eagerly, often in large amounts: To consume food or prey in a greedy, ravenous, or voracious manner.
   • To read, watch, or listen to something with great eagerness and enthusiasm: To absorb information or entertainment avidly and completely.
   • To destroy or consume something completely, often by fire or a similar force: To engulf and obliterate.

Usage and Examples

• Eating greedily:

  • The hungry children devoured the pizza as soon as it arrived.
  • The documentary showed a snake devouring its prey.

• Consuming with the mind (reading/watching avidly):

  • She devoured the entire book series in one weekend.
  • He devoured every article he could find on the subject.

• Being destroyed or consumed completely:

  • The wildfire devoured thousands of acres of forest.
  • Jealousy can devour a person from the inside.

Advanced Usage

• To be devoured by [an emotion]: To be completely overwhelmed or consumed by a strong, often negative, feeling.
  • He was devoured by guilt after the accident.
  • She was devoured by curiosity about her family's past.

Variants and Related Words

• Devourer (noun): One who or that which devours.
  • The locust swarm was a relentless devourer of crops.
• Devouring (adjective): Characterized by intense or consuming eagerness.
  • She looked at the masterpiece with devouring eyes.

Synonyms

• Gobble (up): To eat quickly and greedily.
• Consume: To eat, use up, or destroy.
• Engulf: To swallow up or overwhelm.
• Gorge (on): To eat a large amount greedily.

Phrasal Verbs / Common Collocations

• Devour up: (Less common, similar to "gobble up") To consume completely and quickly.
  • The rising floodwaters threatened to devour up the small village.

Idioms and Figurative Use

• To devour with one's eyes: To look at someone or something with intense desire, curiosity, or admiration.
  • The art students devoured the painting with their eyes, noting every brushstroke.
• To have a devouring passion for something: To have an all-consuming, intense interest in something.
  • He has a devouring passion for classical music.

Học thuật

Verb

1. eat greedily
   • he devoured three sandwiches
2. eat immoderately
   • Some people can down a pound of meat in the course of one meal
3. enjoy avidly
   • She devoured his novels
4. destroy completely
   • Fire had devoured our home

Từ đồng nghĩa

• guttle
• raven
• pig
• down
• consume
• go through