devours

verb

present tense third-person singular of devour
1
as in consumes
to destroy all trace of a series of devastating storms devoured the beach on the south side of the island

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in spends
to make complete use of a catastrophic medical event that devoured their savings

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in inhales
to swallow or eat greedily the starving villagers simply devoured the relief food

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 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 But May also routinely devours Tool, Nine Inch Nails, and jazz albums from Miles Davis. — Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Feb. 2026 But in Washington, politics devours everything, even the sacred. — Tara Palmeri, Vanity Fair, 12 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for devours
  1. consumes
  2. spends
  3. inhales
  4. exhausts
  5. gulps
  6. drains
  7. crams
  8. absorbs
Verb
  • And the human brain only consumes about 20 watts of energy doing that.
    — Jackie Snow, IEEE Spectrum, 30 July 2026
  • Every prompt, response, and autonomous agent interaction consumes tokens, and as AI systems become more sophisticated, usage can scale from thousands to millions—or even trillions—of tokens.
    — Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 29 July 2026
Definition of consumes
Verb
  • Also, what would happen to the College Sports Commission, the main NIL enforcement arm that spends the bulk of its time analyzing third-party NIL deals that would be greatly reduced under this arrangement?
    — ABC News, ABC News, 31 July 2026
  • Each day Mark Beard spends in recovery is a reminder of what could have been.
    — Katie Whyatt, New York Times, 31 July 2026
Definition of spends
Verb
  • 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
  • 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
  • Watching this scene, and much of the film, exhausts me.
    — Jenny Odell, Longreads, 2 June 2026
Definition of exhausts
Verb
  • What's more, while virtually all VTOLs being developed these days are electric, the Janus-1 is powered by a turboshaft engine that gulps n' burns diesel, kerosene or Jet A fuel.
    — Ben Coxworth October 21, New Atlas, 21 Oct. 2025
Definition of gulps
Verb
  • Redesign how the job actually gets done on-site, begin with where your people spend their time and what drains it, and bring in technology to serve that work.
    — Jessica Beck, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Continue reading … DIGITAL HEIST — Coldcard wallet attack drains up to $89M in Bitcoin from 1,200+ addresses.
    — , FOXNews.com, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of drains
Verb
  • The MatePad Air crams six speakers into its thin body and, thanks to its big battery, can play videos for up to 16 hours.
    — Ben Sin, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
  • Director Allan Deberton crams much story and characterization in those opening frames.
    — Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 24 Feb. 2026
Definition of crams
Verb
  • The light gel-serum texture glides on and absorbs effortlessly, and the cooling metal rollerball applicator feels incredible on post-procedural skin.
    — Audrey Noble, Vogue, 27 July 2026
  • Warm cake absorbs liquid much better, and this is the step that gives the cake its signature moistness.
    — Maggie Meyer Glisan, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 July 2026
Definition of absorbs

Browse Nearby Words

devouring
devours
devout
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Devours.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/devours. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on devours

Nglish: Translation of devours for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

How long is a jiffy?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All