devour

verb

di-ˈvau̇(-ə)r How to pronounce devour (audio)
Definition of devournext
1
as in to consume
to destroy all trace of a series of devastating storms devoured the beach on the south side of the island

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to spend
to make complete use of a catastrophic medical event that devoured their savings

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to inhale
to swallow or eat greedily the starving villagers simply devoured the relief food

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of devour Soon Drews noticed the speed with which her cheesecakes were devoured. — David Farley, Bon Appetit Magazine, 15 Sep. 2026 Typically just a minute or two in length, the videos are devoured by Chinese audiences at breakfast, on their morning commutes, during their lunch breaks and on their free time after work — and almost any time in between. — Ling Wei, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026 Someone else expresses revulsion at seeing dogs devour bodies left to rot, but the disgust doesn’t seem to extend to the killings themselves. — Jay Weissberg, Variety, 10 Sep. 2026 Readers and critics devoured the book (no pun intended), but their responses often worry Brooks. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 10 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for devour
Recent Examples of Synonyms for devour
  1. consume
  2. spend
  3. inhale
  4. drain
  5. gulp
  6. exhaust
  7. cram
  8. absorb
Verb
  • Contemplation of this tax — which produced $384 million in the last fiscal year — has consumed endless hours of work from some of the county’s most respected leaders, and drawn earnest public testimony from dozens of people.
    — Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Oct. 2026
  • So much about our elections is being decided now by people who are actively trying not to consume political news.
    — Jacob Brogan, Vox, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of consume
Verb
  • The frontman said he was humbled by the action and was touched to spend time with members of the Minneapolis community who worked on the front lines during the ICE surge.
    — Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
  • OpenAI, for example, expects to spend more than $25 billion on training alone this year.
    — Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of spend
Verb
  • And so, for the brand, only the most breathable, and healthily inhaled, natural materials will suffice.
    — Jaklin Romine Oct. 15, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Those products are made with tiny particles that are more likely to be inhaled or absorbed by marine organisms.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of inhale
Verb
  • Be sure to drain the olives, mushrooms, and use a thick pizza sauce to avoid a watery dip.
    — Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Eating triggers saliva production, but a stone can keep the saliva from draining, causing the gland to swell.
    — Angela Haupt, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of drain
Verb
  • Sang-woo, who’d previously refused to drink soju with Ho-seok and Mi-ok, gulps down a fifteen-hundred-dollar bottle of Gaja Chardonnay.
    — E. Tammy Kim, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The customer gulps it down in a single stretch and drops it into a bin – visible proof of his relief, at least for this moment, from the sweltering heat.
    — Light Oriye Tamunotonye, Christian Science Monitor, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of gulp
Verb
  • Fans care about rivalries among teams made up of students who generally progress through college and exhaust their eligibility alongside their classmates, rather than athletes whose college careers extend well beyond the traditional timeline.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Across a vast and punishing Atlantic, the voyage exhausted the patience of its crew, but never the conviction of its captain.
    — Mackenzie Chase, The Washington Examiner, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of exhaust
Verb
  • Yet Abrams still won’t kvetch about being crammed into a tiny whale-stomach set with a camera crew, while a half-dozen crew members surrounding the practical gut, wielding a gimbal, tossed him around like a wet rag doll.
    — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
  • In 2013, Rana Plaza, a nine-story building crammed with garment factories outside the capital Dhaka, collapsed killing 1,100 people.
    — Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of cram
Verb
  • The cuts to public benefits arrive at a time where populations in the state are less likely to be able to absorb the impact.
    — P.R. Lockhart, Hartford Courant, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Clinically tested in a 16-week study, the fast-absorbing cream has stats to back up its benefits.
    — Jenny Berg, Vogue, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of absorb

Browse Nearby Words

devotions
devour
devoured
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Cite this Entry

“Devour.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/devour. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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