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to raven

to raven

9.0
To eat something quickly and greedily
  • verb
  • /ˈreɪvən/
  • Archaic
translation icon : devorar
  • After the marathon, she began to raven for food, devouring everything in sight.

Examples

  • The wolf is known to raven over its kill, consuming the meat with great hunger.

  • But after a while, that didn't stop you from ravening down the poison.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Louis throws Claudia behind him and hurls himself on Lestat, who fights like a ravening animal, bits of his broken body coming off in the process.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • He would raven over the delicious feast laid out before him at the banquet.

Synonyms

to devour
vsto raven
53 3.9

To destroy or use up things quickly, for example when fire burns a building

is limited to eating food greedily rather than also meaning destruction
to gorge
vsto raven
12 5.9

To eat a very large amount of food greedily

focuses on devouring hungrily rather than prolonged overeating
to wolf
vsto raven
  • Informal
11 6.1

To eat quickly and greedily

is centered on greedy devouring rather than primarily on speed
to pig
vsto raven
  • Informal
7 7.9

To eat a lot in a greedy way

is the neutral hungry devouring sense rather than informal insult
to wolf down
vsto raven
  • Informal
7 5.8

Eat food very quickly when you are very hungry

is more about greedy devouring than speed or urgent eating
to fress
vsto raven
  • Slang
1 9.9

To eat a lot of food quickly without control

is about devouring hungrily rather than merely lacking restraint
to guttle
vsto raven
  • Archaic
9.9

To eat food quickly and greedily

is about hungry devouring but not always with fierce appetite
to englut
vsto raven
  • Archaic
9.9

To eat too much food in a greedy way

is focused on hungry devouring rather than stressing sheer quantity

Antonyms

56 2.0

To eat small, gentle bites slowly or a little at a time

Compounds

A heron that hunts at night or at dusk

sea raven
  • Specialized
9.9

A large western Atlantic fish that puffs up when threatened

How Hungry

to gorge
12 5.9
to raven
  • Archaic
9.0
to gobble
16 2.6
to eat
1.0
to snack
27 1.0
to nibble
56 2.0

Surface Forms

raven infinitive
ravened past
ravened past participle
ravening present participle
ravens third person singular

Etymology

Raven (verb) meaning 'to eat greedily' comes from watching ravens grab and devour meat quickly, so it means to gorge or destroy food. A helpful way to remember is the word ravenous 'very hungry', which gives the same image of strong, fast eating.