DEVOURS Synonyms: 114 Similar and Opposite Words

devours

verb

present tense third-person singular of devour

as in consumes

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

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as in spends

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in inhales

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

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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 devours 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 fungus then slowly devours the ant, sprouting through its head in one final indignity. — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 6 Aug. 2026 Regardless, there’s a clear symbolism to Clark empathizing and embracing a bloated externalization of his own inchoate fury until someone with an outside perspective disturbs his peace, and that fury breaks loose and devours him. — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 29 May 2026 In my experience, urgency devours strategy for breakfast, lunch and dinner. — Allison Mais, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026 There are Americans—and Britons and Canadians and Australians and Europeans, too—who remember that a society that turns on its Jewish minority eventually devours itself. — David Frum, The Atlantic, 21 May 2026 Today, the city devours tens of millions every year. — Susan Spencer, CBS News, 17 May 2026 His popularity’s decline was shaped partly by race, partly by our deep but uneven revulsion toward scandal involving children, and partly by a media ecosystem that devours spectacle. — Steven Gray, Time, 29 Apr. 2026 From her experience, the grasshopper drawing attention in Arizona devours everything in its path, whereas the chapulín is tied to greener environments and specific crops, such as cornfields, alfalfa, and squash leaves. — Nadia Cantú, AZCentral.com, 25 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for devours

Verb

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
Many facilities use evaporative cooling, which consumes water to remove server heat.

— Mark Drapeau, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of consumes

Verb

Gray is central to the investment calls Blackstone makes, and spends his weekends reading memos on potential deals in preparation for his weekly investment committee meetings.

— Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Our roads get a D+ by the American Society of Civil Engineers, which found Colorado spends 35% more on car repairs than the national average.

— Shaun Boyd, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of spends

Verb

The child inhales for four counts, holds for four counts, exhales for four counts and holds again for four counts.

— Samantha Agate, Sacbee.com, 10 Aug. 2026
The chemical is particularly tough on the human respiratory system and, depending on how much a person inhales, MMA can cause everything from sore throats and cough to dizziness, nausea and, at the highest levels, damage to the nervous system, Kleinman said.

— Sierra van der Brug, Oc Register, 23 May 2026

Definition of inhales

Verb

If a bureaucratic process exhausts whatever time a citizen has available, then benefits are lost or rights are denied.

— Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2026
That’s because even ordinary winds – and far worse, storms and earthquakes – cause tall buildings to sway, which ruins people’s concentration, wrecks their mood, and even exhausts them.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 24 July 2026

Definition of exhausts

Verb

Once the cycle is complete, the dirty water drains away and you’re left with clean, wet clothing.

— Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott, Southern Living, 21 Aug. 2026
Defensiveness extends conversations, weakens credibility and drains emotional energy that could have been directed toward solving problems.

— Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of drains

Verb

This outer layer absorbs physical stress directly, protecting the delicate internal materials from bending or cracking under load.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 26 Aug. 2026
As Altman absorbs the public’s fears and frustrations over AI, the company has recently sought to elevate Brockman’s profile as a counterweight.

— Alex Heath, Time, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of absorbs

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devouring

devours

devout

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“Devours.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/devours. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of devours

verb

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