What does gluttonous mean?
Gluttonous means excessively greedy or voracious, most often in relation to eating or drinking. Someone described as gluttonous consumes food with an appetite that appears difficult to control, and the word can also be applied figuratively to an insatiable desire to acquire or use something. Its defining quality is excess: it does not merely indicate a strong appetite, but an appetite or behavior portrayed as excessive and therefore disapproving. The adjective is used in both British and American English and has a formal, sometimes literary tone. It is more pointed than hungry and more specifically focused on consumption than the broader word greedy. In figurative contexts, gluttonous can convey moral criticism, as when a person or organization is accused of greedily exhausting resources or taking more than it needs. The related noun glutton denotes a voracious eater, while gluttony names the vice or habit of excessive eating.
adjectiveExcessively greedy or voracious, especially in eating or drinking. It can also describe behavior marked by an insatiable appetite for something.
- Excessively greedy or voracious, especially in eating or drinking.
"The gluttonous diner ordered every dish on the menu and still asked for dessert."
"His gluttonous appetite led him to finish the entire roast before anyone else had served themselves."
"The company was criticized for its gluttonous consumption of resources while small local projects went unfunded."
Gluttonous turns the person who eats too much into the behavior of eating too much: a glutton displays a gluttonous appetite.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does gluttonous come from?
Gluttonous was formed in English in the early 17th century from glutton and the suffix -ous, following the pattern of Latin gluttonosus, meaning greedy or voracious. The English noun glutton comes through French from Latin glutton, a word associated with glutire, “to swallow.” The same Latin root also underlies glut and gluttony.
Related word forms
How gluttonous is actually used
The word is especially associated with eating but can be used figuratively. It usually has a strongly disapproving tone and is more common in formal, literary, or journalistic prose than in casual conversation.
Easily confused with gluttonous
A glutton is a person who eats greedily, whereas gluttonous is the adjective describing that appetite or behavior.