Synonyms for covetous
ˈkʌv ɪ təscov·etous

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. covetous

   Avaricious and covetous refer especially to acquisition, miserly, niggardly, parsimonious, and penurious to expenditure. The avaricious man has an eager craving for money, and ordinarily desires both to get and to keep, the covetous man to get something away from its possessor; tho one may be made avaricious by the pressure of great expenditures. Miserly and niggardly persons seek to gain by mean and petty savings; the miserly by stinting themselves, the niggardly by stinting others. Parsimonious and penurious may apply to one's outlay either for himself or for others; in the latter use, they are somewhat less harsh and reproachful terms than niggardly. The close man holds like a vise all that he gets. Near and nigh are provincial words of similar import. The rapacious have the robber instinct, and put it in practise in some form, as far as they dare. The avaricious and rapacious are ready to reach out for gain; the parsimonious, miserly, and niggardly prefer the safer and less adventurous way of avoiding expenditure. Greedy and stingy are used not only of money, but often of other things, as food, etc. The greedy child wishes to enjoy everything himself; the stingy child, to keep others from getting it.

   Synonyms:
   avaricious, close, greedy, miserly, niggardly, parsimonious, penurious, rapacious, sordid, stingy

   Antonyms:
   bountiful, free, generous, liberal, munificent, prodigal, wasteful

   Preposition:
   The monarch was avaricious of power.

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. covetous

   Synonyms:
   acquisitive, avaricious, greedy, grasping, rapacious

   Antonyms:
   unselfish, liberal, self-sacrificing, profuse, bountiful, charitable

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. covetous, envious, jealousadjective

   showing extreme cupidity; painfully desirous of another's advantages

   "he was never covetous before he met her"; "jealous of his success and covetous of his possessions"; "envious of their art collection"

   Synonyms:
   grabby, grasping, greedy, avaricious, green-eyed, envious, jealous, prehensile, overjealous

   Antonyms:
   undesirous, undesiring, unacquisitive

2. avaricious, covetous, grabby, grasping, greedy, prehensileadjective

   immoderately desirous of acquiring e.g. wealth

   "they are avaricious and will do anything for money"; "casting covetous eyes on his neighbor's fields"; "a grasping old miser"; "grasping commercialism"; "greedy for money and power"; "grew richer and greedier"; "prehensile employers stingy with raises for their employees"

   Synonyms:
   devouring(a), avid, grabby, grasping, esurient, greedy, avaricious, envious, jealous, prehensile

   Antonyms:
   undesiring, unacquisitive, undesirous

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. covetousadjective

   Synonyms:
   greedy, eager, very desirous (usually in a bad sense, though sometimes in a good sense), AVARICIOUS, parsimonious, penurious, sordid, mean, mercenary, miserly, niggardly, stingy

How to pronounce covetous?

How to say covetous in sign language?

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

1. [["1568","2"],["1572","29"],["1579","2"],["1581","3"],["1584","1"],["1587","4"],["1590","2"],["1592","2"],["1607","1"],["1618","1"],["1624","3"],["1637","7"],["1638","3"],["1640","1"],["1641","2"],["1642","1"],["1643","2"],["1644","4"],["1647","2"],["1648","3"],["1649","5"],["1653","6"],["1655","2"],["1656","20"],["1658","11"],["1659","28"],["1660","4"],["1661","4"],["1662","2"],["1664","2"],["1665","1"],["1667","10"],["1668","10"],["1670","3"],["1671","5"],["1672","2"],["1673","10"],["1674","1"],["1675","13"],["1676","9"],["1677","8"],["1678","13"],["1679","8"],["1680","10"],["1681","35"],["1682","6"],["1683","22"],["1684","49"],["1685","23"],["1686","19"],["1687","2"],["1688","20"],["1689","9"],["1690","12"],["1691","1"],["1692","6"],["1693","4"],["1694","3"],["1695","13"],["1696","6"],["1697","3"],["1698","21"],["1699","13"],["1700","23"],["1701","26"],["1702","40"],["1703","29"],["1704","43"],["1705","13"],["1706","37"],["1707","43"],["1708","29"],["1709","37"],["1710","39"],["1711","42"],["1712","53"],["1713","53"],["1714","44"],["1715","23"],["1716","73"],["1717","76"],["1718","22"],["1719","27"],["1720","101"],["1721","42"],["1722","236"],["1723","67"],["1724","63"],["1725","65"],["1726","70"],["1727","71"],["1728","89"],["1729","98"],["1730","76"],["1731","107"],["1732","98"],["1733","44"],["1734","67"],["1735","50"],["1736","40"],["1737","77"],["1738","125"],["1739","82"],["1740","125"],["1741","45"],["1742","80"],["1743","35"],["1744","92"],["1745","42"],["1746","49"],["1747","100"],["1748","173"],["1749","91"],["1750","103"],["1751","193"],["1752","60"],["1753","168"],["1754","103"],["1755","164"],["1756","31"],["1757","128"],["1758","59"],["1759","101"],["1760","88"],["1761","67"],["1762","31"],["1763","141"],["1764","75"],["1765","85"],["1766","138"],["1767","70"],["1768","136"],["1769","45"],["1770","78"],["1771","107"],["1772","97"],["1773","32"],["1774","92"],["1775","65"],["1776","53"],["1777","127"],["1778","62"],["1779","33"],["1780","95"],["1781","74"],["1782","183"],["1783","74"],["1784","124"],["1785","68"],["1786","86"],["1787","150"],["1788","128"],["1789","92"],["1790","125"],["1791","179"],["1792","175"],["1793","116"],["1794","130"],["1795","189"],["1796","144"],["1797","102"],["1798","117"],["1799","143"],["1800","264"],["1801","500"],["1802","236"],["1803","343"],["1804","351"],["1805","458"],["1806","508"],["1807","490"],["1808","592"],["1809","452"],["1810","720"],["1811","717"],["1812","709"],["1813","590"],["1814","644"],["1815","622"],["1816","645"],["1817","537"],["1818","682"],["1819","485"],["1820","995"],["1821","796"],["1822","1363"],["1823","953"],["1824","1253"],["1825","1294"],["1826","848"],["1827","644"],["1828","980"],["1829","918"],["1830","2590"],["1831","1281"],["1832","980"],["1833","844"],["1834","920"],["1835","815"],["1836","992"],["1837","989"],["1838","956"],["1839","1804"],["1840","1439"],["1841","923"],["1842","970"],["1843","1079"],["1844","1430"],["1845","1550"],["1846","1239"],["1847","1175"],["1848","1291"],["1849","1192"],["1850","1702"],["1851","1631"],["1852","1179"],["1853","1611"],["1854","1427"],["1855","1284"],["1856","1473"],["1857","992"],["1858","1382"],["1859","1527"],["1860","1243"],["1861","1032"],["1862","839"],["1863","1242"],["1864","997"],["1865","890"],["1866","1032"],["1867","911"],["1868","1018"],["1869","1027"],["1870","1011"],["1871","1126"],["1872","934"],["1873","1157"],["1874","1082"],["1875","1301"],["1876","973"],["1877","943"],["1878","976"],["1879","937"],["1880","1201"],["1881","1185"],["1882","1260"],["1883","1710"],["1884","1119"],["1885","1224"],["1886","1012"],["1887","919"],["1888","1064"],["1889","976"],["1890","1011"],["1891","1210"],["1892","1400"],["1893","1202"],["1894","1082"],["1895","1257"],["1896","1302"],["1897","1260"],["1898","1512"],["1899","1908"],["1900","1897"],["1901","1573"],["1902","1542"],["1903","1495"],["1904","1589"],["1905","1753"],["1906","1806"],["1907","1626"],["1908","1755"],["1909","1438"],["1910","1461"],["1911","1354"],["1912","1420"],["1913","1217"],["1914","1200"],["1915","1119"],["1916","845"],["1917","1010"],["1918","765"],["1919","1005"],["1920","1080"],["1921","911"],["1922","1006"],["1923","1024"],["1924","1031"],["1925","984"],["1926","1069"],["1927","1262"],["1928","1289"],["1929","1026"],["1930","1047"],["1931","1015"],["1932","1066"],["1933","680"],["1934","821"],["1935","996"],["1936","768"],["1937","887"],["1938","964"],["1939","819"],["1940","820"],["1941","813"],["1942","575"],["1943","543"],["1944","578"],["1945","581"],["1946","865"],["1947","861"],["1948","958"],["1949","872"],["1950","1049"],["1951","873"],["1952","1000"],["1953","929"],["1954","799"],["1955","942"],["1956","1055"],["1957","1114"],["1958","1024"],["1959","1060"],["1960","1235"],["1961","1460"],["1962","1817"],["1963","1767"],["1964","1696"],["1965","2101"],["1966","2138"],["1967","1978"],["1968","2324"],["1969","2215"],["1970","2076"],["1971","1980"],["1972","1764"],["1973","1634"],["1974","1475"],["1975","1494"],["1976","1541"],["1977","1596"],["1978","1558"],["1979","1423"],["1980","1442"],["1981","1480"],["1982","1337"],["1983","1424"],["1984","1469"],["1985","1436"],["1986","1639"],["1987","1540"],["1988","1551"],["1989","1575"],["1990","1795"],["1991","1704"],["1992","1897"],["1993","1989"],["1994","2219"],["1995","1985"],["1996","2233"],["1997","2305"],["1998","2345"],["1999","2674"],["2000","2955"],["2001","3006"],["2002","3353"],["2003","4813"],["2004","5390"],["2005","4590"],["2006","5953"],["2007","7128"],["2008","15155"]]

Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use covetous in a sentence?

1. Ben Jonson:

   The covetous man never has money. The prodigal will have none shortly.

2. Francis Quarles:

   If thou desire not to be poor, desire not to be too rich. He is rich, not that possesses much, but he that covets no more; and he is poor, not that enjoys little, but he that wants too much. The contented mind wants nothing which it hath not; the covetous mind wants, not only what it hath not, but likewise what it hath.

3. Francis Bacon:

   If money be not thy servant, it will be thy master. The covetous man cannot so properly be said to possess wealth, as that may be said to possess him.

4. Sir Thomas Browne:

   Be charitable before wealth makes thee covetous.

5. Horace:

   The covetous man is ever in want.