French Conversation · Level 58
75 words
French word
dévorer
Pronunciation
IPA/devoʁe/
Meaning
- verbdevour
Example
Il a dévoré son sandwich en deux minutes.
He devoured his sandwich in two minutes.
More examples
Elle a dévoré le roman en une soirée.
She devoured the novel in one evening.
Core concept
Food disappears in a rush under an appetite so strong that the plate is left empty, and the image also applies to consuming something abstract with equal intensity.
Common phrases
dévorer un livre
devour a book
dévorer un sandwich
devour a sandwich
Similar words
manger: To eat food in the ordinary way.
bouffer: To eat a large amount of food greedily in a casual way.
avaler: To swallow food or liquid.
grignoter: To eat small amounts of food little by little.
Definition in French
Manger quelque chose jusqu'à ne rien en laisser, souvent très vite; s'emploie aussi métaphoriquement pour indiquer une consommation intense d'une chose immatérielle.
Word origin
French dévorer descends from Old French devorer and ultimately from Latin devorare, whose second element vorare means 'to swallow'.
Usage tips
- Dévorer is common in both literal and figurative French, so dévorer un livre refers to reading it very quickly rather than eating it.
Other meanings
- consumeverb
Opposites
- savourersavorverb
Related words
- dévoreurdevourernoun
- dévorédevouredadjective