Insatiable
/ɪnˈseɪʃ(j)əbəl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjNot satiable; incapable of being satisfied or appeased; very greedy.
nounOne who or that which cannot be satiated.
Sentence Examples
Tom has an insatiable appetite.
Dan had an insatiable appetite towards violence.
Sami was completely unaware of the insatiable greed driving Layla.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
After not eating for three days, his hunger became so ____ that he could not stop eating.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The young boy had an ____ appetite and was hungry again just an hour after eating a very large lunch.
Word Origin & History
Inherited from Middle English insaciable, from Middle French insatiable, from Old French insaciable, from Late Latin insatiabilis. By surface analysis, in- + satiable.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Hugo, in a fine frenzy, threatens to depose the Sacristan, to do this and do that; but, in the mean while, how to quiet your insatiable Jew? Hugo, for this couple of hundreds, grants the Jew his bond for four hundred payable at the end of four years. (...) Neither yet is this insatiable Jew satisfied or settled with: he had papers against us of 'small debts fourteen years old;' his modest claim amounts finally to 'Twelve hundred pounds besides interest'"
— 1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, “ch. 4, Abbot Hugo”, in Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, book II (The Ancient Monk):
"Guestling, who adds an insatiable jealousy to his other domestic virtues, vetoed the new acquaintance and thenceforward the two met hurriedly and furtively in town."
— 1923, Ernest Bramah, The Eyes of Max Carrados:
"Such an appointment would realize my fondest dreams. But no, at any sacrifice, I must set bounds to my insatiable ambition!"
— 1885, W[illiam] S[chwenck] Gilbert; Arthur Sullivan, composer, […] The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu, London: Chappel & Co., […], →OCLC:
"The girls are constantly reshuffled into new permutations in order to feed the J-pop market's insatiable demand for fresh looks and faces."
— 2005 August 21, Chris Campion, “J-Pop's dream factory”, in The Observer, →ISSN, archived from the original on 11 Apr 2021:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After not eating for three days, his hunger became so ____ that he could not stop eating.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The young boy had an ____ appetite and was hungry again just an hour after eating a very large lunch.