covetous

(kŭv'ĭ-təs)
adj.

1. Excessively and culpably desirous of the possessions of another. See synonyms at jealous.
2. Marked by extreme desire to acquire or possess: covetous of learning.

covetously cov'et·ous·ly adv.
covetousness cov'et·ous·ness n.

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adjective

1. Resentfully or painfully desirous of another's advantages: envious, green-eyed, invidious, jealous. See desire.
2. Having a strong urge to obtain or possess something, especially material wealth, in quantity: acquisitive, avaricious, avid, grasping, greedy, hungry. Informal grabby. See desire, give/take/reciprocity.

adj

Definition: greedy; very desirous
Antonyms: benevolent, generous, giving

Inability to master one's craving for wrongful possession, an uncontrollable longing to appropriate what rightfully belongs to someone else. Envy and greed are moral offenses prohibited by the last of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:14; Deut. 5:18). The Bible repeatedly condemns insatiable longings (Prov. 14:30, 27:20; Eccl. 5:9), emphasizes their destructive effects (Prov. 28:22), and stigmatizes greed as a prime cause of social injustice (Isa. 5:8; Mic. 2:1-2). The same theme permeates rabbinic literature. "Envy, lust, and ambition drive a man out of the world" (Avot 4:21); and these in turn expose him to new forms of perversity and degeneration---the Evil Eye, the evil inclination, and finally hatred of mankind (Avot 2:11). Nor can the average person anticipate the ruinous outcome of such failings: "Whoever fastens his eyes on what is not his will also lose what is his" (Sot. 9a); this thought is restated picturesquely in the talmudic aphorism, "Because the camel desired horns, his ears were cut off" (San. 106a). In particular, the rabbis observed that envy gives rise to other sins and that whoever transgresses the Tenth Commandment may be said to violate the entire Decalogue (Pesikta Rabbati 107a). Following Isaac Aboab, who affirmed that "greed is the root of all sin" (Menorat ha-Ma'or, c. 1300), Jewish ethical writers down to the modern age have stressed the universal duty to help build a just and civilized world in which people will be content with what they have and will not envy or desire other lands, possessions, and human beings.

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For a list of words related to covetous, see:

• Demanding, Critical, Calculating, or Selfish
• Troublesome, Negative, Irresponsible, or Unpleasant

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See words rhyming with "covetous."

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - begærlig, grisk

Nederlands (Dutch)
begerig, hebzuchtig

Français (French)
adj. - avide, de convoitise

Deutsch (German)
adj. - begehrlich

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - άπληστος

Italiano (Italian)
cupido

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - ganancioso, avarento

Русский (Russian)
алчный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - codicioso, ávido

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - lysten, begärlig

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
妄羡的, 贪婪的, 乱要的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 妄羨的, 貪婪的, 亂要的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 탐내는

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 非常にほしがる, 強欲な

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) تواق, طماع, جشع‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮חמדני‬

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