What does "raven" mean?
Any of several, generally large, species of birds in the genus Corvus with lustrous black plumage; especially the common raven (Corvus corax).
Raven
/ˈɹeɪvn̩/ adj, name, noun, verb
adj, name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Any of several, generally large, species of birds in the genus Corvus with lustrous black plumage; especially the common raven (Corvus corax).
- Grammar: raven is listed as adj, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: corvus corax, angry clouds, atramentous, batten.
- Useful contrasts: bright, cheerful, colorless.
- Usage evidence: Why is a raven like a writing-desk?
How to use "raven"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "raven" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "raven" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "raven" as the right word for your sentence.
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "raven" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any of several, generally large, species of birds in the genus Corvus with lustrous black plumage; especially the common raven (Corvus corax). countable
"Some ſay that Rauens foſter forlorne children, / The vvhilſt their ovvne birds famiſh in their neſts: / Oh be to me though thy hard hart ſay no, / Nothing ſo kinde but ſomething pittifull."
- 2 Alternative spelling of ravin. alt-of, alternative, uncountable
- 3 large black bird with a straight bill and long wedge-shaped tail wordnet
- 4 Any of several, generally large, species of birds in the genus Corvus with lustrous black plumage; especially the common raven (Corvus corax).; A jet-black, often glossy, colour, like that of the plumage of a raven (etymology 1 sense 1). uncountable
"Near-synonyms: ebony, onyx"
- 5 Any of several, generally large, species of birds in the genus Corvus with lustrous black plumage; especially the common raven (Corvus corax).; Usually preceded by a descriptive word: a bird from a genus other than Corvus that resembles the raven (etymology 1 sense 1), especially in having black plumage; also, an imaginary black bird. archaic, countable
"VVhen the great ſea-raven, as Jacobſon informs us, comes to take avvay their young, the puffins boldly oppoſe him. […] As ſoon as the raven approaches, the puffin catches him under the throat vvith its beak, and ſticks its clavvs into his breaſt, vvhich makes the raven, vvith a loud ſcreaming, attempt to get avvay; […]"
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- 6 Any of several, generally large, species of birds in the genus Corvus with lustrous black plumage; especially the common raven (Corvus corax).; A flag bearing a raven (etymology 1 sense 1), formerly used by some Viking leaders countable, historical
- 7 Any of several, generally large, species of birds in the genus Corvus with lustrous black plumage; especially the common raven (Corvus corax).; A flag bearing a raven (etymology 1 sense 1), formerly used by some Viking leaders; preceded by the: Viking military power. historical, metonymically, uncountable
"Behold the vvarrior bright vvith Daniſh ſpoils!— / The raven droops his vvings—and hark! the trumpet, / Exulting, ſpeaks the reſt."
- 8 Any of several, generally large, species of birds in the genus Corvus with lustrous black plumage; especially the common raven (Corvus corax).; A person, especially a man, with black hair. countable
- 9 A person who brings bad news or makes pessimistic predictions. countable, figuratively, obsolete
"Ric[hard]. Novv y'ave ſpoke it halfe; 'tis ſinking I muſt treate of; / Your ſhips are all ſunke. / […] / M[istress] Foſt[er]. O thou fatall Raven; Let me pull thine eyes out for this / Sad croake."
Verb
- 1 Alternative spelling of ravin.; Sometimes followed by away or from: to obtain or seize (something, especially property) by force or violence; to plunder. archaic, transitive
"[They] aſſaulted by night a certen aũciẽt [auncient] gentleman at home in his owne houſe, which had done thē [them] no diſpleaſure, and being a ſlepe in his bed at their cõming [comming], whan he had hardly eſcaped awaye half naked, rauening and diſtroying his goodes, they ſpoyled his wyfe and chyldren of all theyr apparell, and threatening them ofte with death, left thẽ [them] ſtarck naked, in ſo muche that one of the Nobilitie comming thither by chaunce, couered the woman with his owne garment."
- 2 feed greedily wordnet
- 3 Alternative spelling of ravin.; Sometimes followed by down, up, or (obsolete) in: to eat (something, such as food or prey) greedily; to devour, to wolf down. archaic, transitive
"Her princes in the middes thereof are like vvolues, rauening yͤ pray [prey] to ſhed blood, and to ſhed blood, and to deſtroye ſoules for their ovvne couetous lucre."
- 4 eat greedily wordnet
- 5 Alternative spelling of ravin.; To absorb or take in (something, such as information) greedily; also, to approach or pounce on (someone) like prey. figuratively, transitive
"[S]he fenced them in their need / With iron-handed Duty's sternest creed, / 'Gainst Self's lean wolf that ravens word and deed."
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- 6 prey on or hunt for wordnet
- 7 Alternative spelling of ravin.; Followed by about, after, or for: to go after or seek for something, especially booty or spoils; to maraud, to plunder; also (generally), to move about wildly and cause damage; to rampage. intransitive
"[T]he ſouldiours not yet ſatisfied with ſpoiling and ſacking the reſt that they found in the ſaid Tailleret, raging about the confines thereof, rauened and made hauocke on euery ſide, of whatſoeuer they could lay hands on, taking priſoners both men and women, which were loden with carriage."
- 8 obtain or seize by violence wordnet
- 9 Alternative spelling of ravin.; To eat greedily; also, followed by on or upon: of an animal: to prey on. intransitive
"The couaitous deſyre of riche men is euer vnſaciable. It always raueneth and neuer is ſatisfied."
- 10 Alternative spelling of ravin.; Sometimes followed by about or on: to move about searching for food or prey ravenously. intransitive
"[T]he Arms and Hands of the Bear, […] are his ſtrength and inſtrument of action to raven and prey vvith; […]"
- 11 Alternative spelling of ravin.; Sometimes followed by after or for: to have a ravenous appetite or craving for food or prey. intransitive
"[B]ecause hogs are commonly rauening for their meat, more then other cattel, it is meet therefore to haue them ringed, or elſe they will doe much hurt in digging and turning vp corne fieldes, […]"
- 12 Alternative spelling of ravin.; Originally followed by with: to experience great hunger; to be ravenous. intransitive
"For hovv […] ſhall I knovv thee to be a man, vvhen thou kickeſt like an aſſe, neygheſt like an Horſe after vvomen, raueſt in luſt like a Bull, raueneſt like a Beare, ſtingeſt like a Scorpion, rakeſt like a VVolfe, as ſuttle as a Foxe, as impudent as a Dogge; ſhall I ſay thou art man that haſt all the Symptomes of a beaſt?"
- 13 Alternative spelling of ravin.; To take and exploit or make use of greedily. figuratively, intransitive
- 14 Alternative spelling of ravin.; Sometimes followed by after or for: to have a strong craving or desire for, or to do, something; to crave, to desire, to yearn. figuratively, intransitive
"Here's my brother thirsting, ravening to make your acquaintance—and by George! you are in luck's way, young hopeful, to make his."
Adjective
- 1 Especially of hair: of the jet-black and often glossy colour of the plumage of a raven (etymology 1 sense 1). not-comparable
"Near-synonyms: ebony, onyx"
- 2 Alternative spelling of ravin. alt-of, alternative, obsolete
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
"William King, Daniel Giles, and Samuel Raven, the other defendants in the bill named, who were described as the trustees nominated by the parties, of the fifth part."
- 2 A female given name from English for a girl with raven hair, used since the 1970s.
"I want you to do a background check on a woman named Raven Anderson. Waist-length black hair, violet eyes, tall, striking. Late twenties, I'd say."
- 3 A male given name.
"Raven Allen — Originally from the Zone, he becomes a member of the Psi:Ko when he is kidnapped with his brothers by trackers."
- 4 A place name:; A community in Red Deer County, Alberta, Canada, possibly named after the Raven River.
- 5 A place name:; A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Prairie Township, Edgar County, Illinois.
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- 6 A place name:; A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Knott County, Kentucky.
- 7 A place name:; A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Brown County, Nebraska.
- 8 A place name:; A number of places in the United States:; A census-designated place in Russell County and Tazewell County, Virginia.
- 9 A place name:; A village in Kardzhali province, Bulgaria.
- 10 A place name:; A village in Gostivar municipality, North Macedonia.
- 11 Synonym of Corvus (“a constellation of the southern sky south of the constellation Virgo, said to resemble a crow”).
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Why is a raven like a writing-desk?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "raven"?
Common synonyms include: corvus corax, angry clouds, atramentous, batten, be ravenous, black.
How do you use "raven" in a sentence?
Why is a raven like a writing-desk?
How do you pronounce "raven"?
Pronounced /ˈɹeɪvn̩/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English raven, reven (“raven (Corvus corax); carrion crow (Corvus corone); rook (Corvus frugilegus) (?); the constellation Corvus; gall nuts of the Aleppo oak (Quercus infectoria) used to make black ink”), from Old English hræfn (“raven”), from Proto-West Germanic *hrabn (“raven”), from Proto-Germanic *hrabnaz (“raven”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *ḱrep- (“to crackle; to rattle”) or *ḱer- (“to croak, crow”), probably ultimately onomatopoeic, referring to the bird’s call.
Etymology 2
A variant of ravin, from Middle English ravin, ravine, raven (noun).