Merriam - Webster Word of the day * acquisitive *

acquisitive

adjective

ac·​quis·​i·​tive ə-ˈkwi-zə-tiv 

Synonyms of acquisitive
: strongly desirous of acquiring and possessing
acquisitively adverb
acquisitiveness noun

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While acquisitive is a useful synonym of the likes of greedy and avaricious, it's relatively unknown compared to its more popular lexical relations, acquire and acquisition. The former of that pair is most often used to mean "to get as one's own," as in "skills acquired through practice"; the latter refers either to the act of acquiring something, as in "the acquisition of skills," or to something or someone acquired or gained, as in "the museum's recent acquisitions." All three have as their ultimate source the Latin word acquīrere, meaning "to acquire." While acquire and acquisition have both been in use since the 15th century, acquisitive is a bit younger. The word has a somewhat rare use meaning "capable of acquiring" that dates to the late 16th century, but its "greedy" meaning dates only to the early 19th century.

Synonyms

• avaricious
  
• avid
  
• coveting
  
• covetous
  
• grabby
  
• grasping
  
• greedy
  
• mercenary
  
• moneygrubbing
  
• rapacious
  

Choose the Right Synonym for [size=24]acquisitive

COVETOUS, GREEDY, ACQUISITIVE, GRASPING, AVARICIOUS mean having or showing a strong desire for especially material possessions.
COVETOUS implies inordinate desire often for another's possessions.

covetous of his brother's country estate
GREEDY stresses lack of restraint and often of discrimination in desire.

greedy for status symbols
ACQUISITIVE implies both eagerness to possess and ability to acquire and keep.

an eagerly acquisitive mind
GRASPING adds to COVETOUS and GREEDY an implication of selfishness and often suggests unfair or ruthless means.

a hard grasping businesswoman who cheated her associates
AVARICIOUS implies obsessive acquisitiveness especially of money and strongly suggests stinginess.

an avaricious miser
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Examples of acquisitive in a Sentence

acquisitive developers are trying to tear down the historic home and build a shopping mall

Recent Examples on the WebMashups are now constructed with no real deliberateness but as part of a steady acquisitive spree through the videos that crowd our screens.[size=18][size=0]—Thomas Mallon, The New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2023[/size]However, his acquisitive wife, who had no such scruples, accepted in his stead, and this became the Summer White House.[size=0]—Martin Filler, The New York Review of Books, 9 Nov. 2023[/size]This uncanny permanence fails to spark the acquisitive impulse in us.[size=0]—Meghan O'Gieblyn, WIRED, 16 Aug. 2023[/size][/size]

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'acquisitive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology
borrowed from French & Late Latin; French acquisitif, going back to Middle French, borrowed from Late Latin acquīsītīvus "acquired, involving gain or possession," from Latin acquīsītus (past participle of acquīrere "to ACQUIRE") + -īvus -IVE
First Known Use
1835, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of acquisitive was in 1835
See more words from the same year