DEVOUR Synonyms: 114 Similar and Opposite Words

devour

verb

di-ˈvau̇(-ə)r

Definition of devour

as in to consume

to destroy all trace of a series of devastating storms devoured the beach on the south side of the island

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to spend

to make complete use of a catastrophic medical event that devoured their savings

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to inhale

to swallow or eat greedily the starving villagers simply devoured the relief food

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 The larvae come from the Cochliomyia hominivorax fly, which invades open wounds or the mucous membranes of body openings in any warm-blooded animal, including humans, and devours tissue, causing the wounds to become increasingly deep and painful. — Abraham Tellez, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2026 The Milky Way has something of a torrid and violent history, given that our galaxy has fueled its own growth by cannibalistically devouring smaller galaxies. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 24 Aug. 2026 Observers were treated to the gruesome sight of ravens hacking open unattended eggs and devouring the contents. — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2026 Apparently tone-deaf to the escalating backlash over destructive book scanning, a logo on the door of that team’s warehouse, VGT3, showed a Tyrannosaurus rex preparing to devour a book, 404 Media documented. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 17 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for devour

Recent Examples of Synonyms for devour

Verb

Participants are each given half a watermelon to eat in a specified time period, and they must be consumed down to the rind.

— Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 29 Aug. 2026
That figure assumes the vehicle consumes 100 watt-hours per mile and its solar panels deliver at least four kWh of usable energy to the battery during the day.

— Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of consume

Verb

Robert spent the prior six years with Chicago, hitting 38 home runs and stealing 20 bases in 2023, his best season and lone All-Star appearance.

— Will Sammon, New York Times, 30 Aug. 2026
While higher earners had been spending more using credit cards, the institute said the gap across income classes began narrowing in May of this year.

— Alex Harring, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of spend

Verb

In your audit, emergency reserves are separated from non-retirement assets because they should not ever be drained unless there is an emergency.

— Cicely Jones, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
Then, crews from the Urban Search and Rescue team worked with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to drain the tank and help save the remaining bears from drowning, officials said.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of drain

Verb

Your eyes will thank you College students often fall asleep without removing their contacts, especially when exhausted from late-night studying or over-intoxicated from partying.

— Dr. Jill Grimes, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026
Qualifying members who exhaust their income protection will now be covered up until May 1, 2028, Gee said.

— Jackie Charniga, Freep.com, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of exhaust

Verb

Christa says the biggest mistake travelers make on short layovers is trying to cram too much into the available time.

— Jill Robbins, Travel + Leisure, 25 Aug. 2026
Most of the attendees crammed along the fences, craning their necks and holding their phones aloft on their tiptoes.

— Jeff Gluck, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of cram

Verb

Agricultural production technologies and weather forecasting capabilities have also improved substantially, all of which could help the market absorb part of the supply shocks.

— , CNBC, 3 Sep. 2026
Margot has been absorbed with a new idea she’s discovered in her work and has even reached out to a scholar at NASA to discuss it.

— Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of absorb

Browse Nearby Words

devotions

devour

devoured

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Style

“Devour.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/devour. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of devour

verb

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