From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishavariceav‧a‧rice /ˈævərɪs/ noun [uncountable] formalGREEDY a desire to have a lot of money that is considered to be too strong SYN greed —avaricious /ˌævəˈrɪʃəs/ adjective —avariciously adverb
Examples from the Corpus
avarice• Consuming the fruits of the Earth unrestrained, we become consumed ourselves by avarice and greed.• I interpreted his secrecy as emotional avarice.• But it is also a saga of human avarice and the abuse of power.• In Emor he had been rich beyond the dreams of avarice.• As a result of the man's refreshing lack of avarice, a replica of the pub had to be built.• Imperceptibly at first, the avarice for which their caste is famous began to shine through like copper beneath worn silver-plating.Origin avarice (1200-1300) Old French Latin avaritia, from avarus “avaricious”, from avere “to want to have” 