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insatiable thirst

insatiable thirst

7.0
A very strong wish for more that cannot be satisfied
  • noun
  • /ɪnˈseɪʃəbl θɜrst/
translation icon : sed insaciable
  • He had an insatiable thirst for knowledge.

Examples

  • His insatiable thirst for adventure led him to travel to remote corners of the world.

  • Despite achieving so much, she felt an insatiable thirst for knowledge that could never be fully satisfied.

  • After her promotion, she developed an insatiable thirst for success and recognition.

  • Her insatiable thirst for adventure drove her to travel the world.

  • Many people have an insatiable thirst for knowledge that drives them to read every book they can find.

  • The team's insatiable thirst for victory pushed them to train harder than ever before for the championship.

  • After a long day of hiking, I felt an insatiable thirst for water, as if I could never drink enough.

Synonyms

craving
vsinsatiable thirst
78 3.7

A very strong desire for things like food or cigarettes

describes continuous and unending desire rather than a momentary urge
yearning
vsinsatiable thirst
8 5.5

A strong, lasting wish for something you want but cannot get

stresses an unending, all consuming craving rather than hopeful longing
voracity
vsinsatiable thirst
3 8.4

A very strong hunger or want for something you cannot get enough of

applies more broadly as a metaphor for endless desire beyond hunger
insatiability
vsinsatiable thirst
1 8.4

Always wanting more and never having enough

is used more as a vivid metaphor for intense, unending desire
voraciousness
vsinsatiable thirst
1 7.9

A very strong desire for more food, money or success

focuses on an intense, never-ending craving rather than general excess
appetency
vsinsatiable thirst
9.9

A strong wish to have or try something

means the craving is persistent and cannot be satisfied
appetence
vsinsatiable thirst
9.9

A strong desire to have or do something

is stronger, signalling an intense, unsatisfiable longing

Antonyms

192 2.2

A pleasant feeling when you achieve something or your needs are met

26 2.1

A feeling of being happy and satisfied with your life

How Intense

insatiable thirst
7.0
thirst
40 3.6
longing
69 4.2
desire
1.6
wish
474 1.0
interest
1.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

insatiable + thirst

The meaning is directly compositional: 'insatiable' means unable to be satisfied and 'thirst' means a strong craving, so together they transparently convey an intense, unending desire. This construction follows obvious semantic combination patterns (and similar metaphors exist across many languages), so a learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Insatiable thirst comes from the simple picture of a person who keeps drinking but never feels less thirsty, where insatiable means 'cannot be satisfied' and thirst is the need to drink. So, it now means 'a strong, never-ending desire', like a want for success or knowledge.