insatiable

English

Etymology

From Old French insaciable, from Late Latin insatiabilis

Pronunciation

  • Received Pronunciation (UK): [ɪnˈseɪʃjəbəl]

Adjective

insatiable (comparative more insatiable, superlative most insatiable)

  1. Not satiable; incapable of being satisfied or appeased; very greedy
    • 1843 Thomas Carlyle, Past and Present, book 2, ch. 4, Abbot Hugo
      Hugo, in a fine frenzy, threatens to depose the Sacristan, to do this and do that; but, in the mean while, how to quiet your insatiable Jew? Hugo, for this couple of hundreds, grants the Jew his bond for four hundred payable at the end of four years. (...) Neither yet is this insatiable Jew satisfied or settled with: he had papers against us of 'small debts fourteen years old;' his modest claim amounts finally to 'Twelve hundred pounds besides interest'
    • 1885Gilbert & Sullivan, The Mikado
      Such an appointment would realize my fondest dreams. But no, at any sacrifice, I must set bounds to my insatiable ambition!

Usage notes

  • Nouns to which "insatiable" is often applied: appetite, desire, curiosity, thirst, hunger, need, greed.

Translations

Noun

insatiable (plural insatiables)

  1. One who or that which cannot be satiated.

Further reading

  • insatiable in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
  • insatiable at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams


French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin insatiābilis. Synchronically analysable as in- + satiable.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɛ̃.sa.sjabl/

Adjective

insatiable (plural insatiables)

  1. insatiable

Further reading


Middle French

Adjective

insatiable m or f (plural insatiables)

  1. insatiable
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