acquisitive

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /əˈkwɪzətɪv/ UK /əˈkwɪzətɪv/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
eager to gain and possess things, especially wealth or property

His acquisitive nature led him to hoard rare books.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · eager to gain and possess... grasping greedy covetous avaricious materialistic rapacious

Opposites

generous unselfish altruistic ascetic

Word family

Derived forms acquisitivelyacquisitiveness

Related forms acquire acquisition acquired

Etymology

From Late Latin acquīsītīvus, from Latin acquīrere ('to obtain'), from ad- ('to') + quaerere ('to seek, obtain').

acquīrere Latin quaerere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives Register & Style

External links

# acquisitive

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /əˈkwɪzətɪv/
**IPA (UK):** /əˈkwɪzətɪv/

## Meanings
1. eager to gain and possess things, especially wealth or property

## Examples
- His acquisitive nature led him to hoard rare books.

## Synonyms
- grasping
- greedy
- covetous
- avaricious
- materialistic
- rapacious

## Antonyms
- generous
- unselfish
- altruistic
- ascetic

## Derived Forms
- acquisitively
- acquisitiveness

## Related Forms
- acquire
- acquisition
- acquired

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: acquīrere
- Root: quaerere

## Etymology
From Late Latin acquīsītīvus, from Latin acquīrere ('to obtain'), from ad- ('to') + quaerere ('to seek, obtain').

## AI Etymology
Acquisitive is an adjective meaning "eager to gain and possess things, especially wealth or property". Historically, it is from Late Latin acquīsītīvus, from Latin acquīrere ('to obtain'), from ad- ('to') + quaerere ('to seek, obtain'). The visible construction is part of the etymology: acquisitive is not just an unanalyzed simple word. The historical chain links Latin acquīrere with Latin quaerere. Close English family members include acquisitively, acquisitiveness, acquire, acquisition, and acquired.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- Register & Style

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