What does "ravening" mean?
Predation (by an animal); voracious eating or consumption.
Ravening
/ˈɹævənɪŋ/ adj, noun
adj, noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Predation (by an animal); voracious eating or consumption.
- Grammar: ravening is listed as adj, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: acquisitive, aggressive, anarchic, angry.
- Useful contrasts: benign, content, contented.
- Usage evidence: Then fury spurred their courage, and behold, / As ravening wolves, when darkness hides the day, / Stung with mad fire of famine uncontrolled, / Prowl from their dens, and leave the whelps to stay, / With jaws athirst and gaping for the prey. / So to sure death, amid the darkness there, / Where swords, and spears, and foemen bar the way, / Into the centre of the town we fare. / Night with her shadowy cone broods o'er the vaulted air.
How to use "ravening"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "ravening" 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 "ravening" 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 "ravening" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "ravening" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "ravening" is acting as adj, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "acquisitive" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "ravening", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Predation (by an animal); voracious eating or consumption. archaic, literary
"Some rather deuoure than eate their meate non other wyse than suche as be ledde in to prison. This rauenyng and deuourynge is appropred to theues."
- 2 Eagerness for plunder; rapacity; extortion.
"We must kyll diuelish pryde, furious angre, insatiable couetousnes, filthy lucre, stinking lechery, deadly hatred & malice, foxy wilines, woluish rauening & deuouring, and al other vnreasonable lustes and desires of the fleshe."
Adjective
- 1 Voracious and greedy.
"There is no shortage of ravening friends and relatives on the day one hits the lottery."
- 2 Subject to the voracity of a predator. archaic
"To be the strongers rauening pray the weaker did begin, And might went for oppressed right […]"
Adjective
- 1 devouring or craving food in great quantities wordnet
- 2 excessively greedy and grasping wordnet
- 3 living by preying on other animals especially by catching living prey wordnet
Example
"Then fury spurred their courage, and behold, / As ravening wolves, when darkness hides the day, / Stung with mad fire of famine uncontrolled, / Prowl from their dens, and leave the whelps to stay, / With jaws athirst and gaping for the prey. / So to sure death, amid the darkness there, / Where swords, and spears, and foemen bar the way, / Into the centre of the town we fare. / Night with her shadowy cone broods o'er the vaulted air."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "ravening"?
Common synonyms include: acquisitive, aggressive, anarchic, angry, avaricious, avid.
How do you use "ravening" in a sentence?
Then fury spurred their courage, and behold, / As ravening wolves, when darkness hides the day, / Stung with mad fire of famine uncontrolled, / Prowl from their dens, and leave the whelps to stay, / With jaws athirst and gaping for the prey. / So to sure death, amid the darkness there, / Where swords, and spears, and foemen bar the way, / Into the centre of the town we fare. / Night with her shadowy cone broods o'er the vaulted air.
How do you pronounce "ravening"?
Pronounced /ˈɹævənɪŋ/.
Etymology
Present participle of the obsolete verb raven (“to prey”).