acquisitive
uh-KWIZ-uh-tiv
/əˈkwɪz.ə.tɪv/
Excessively interested in acquiring and owning money or material things.
Implies an active, eager, and often greedy drive to collect or accumulate wealth and property.
The story behind the word. From Latin 'acquirere' (to add to, accumulate), combining 'ad-' (to) and 'quaerere' (to seek). It describes someone whose default mode of existence is seeking more things to own.
Word relationships
- covetous: Covetous emphasizes longing specifically for what others own, while acquisitive emphasizes the relentless urge to keep adding to one's own pile.
- altruistic: Altruistic focuses on giving to others, whereas acquisitive focuses on acquiring for oneself.
Commonly confused with
- inquisitive: Inquisitive means curious or eager for knowledge; acquisitive means eager to possess physical assets.
Word family
- acquire (verb): To gain possession of.
- acquisition (noun): The act of acquiring something.
Collocations
- acquisitive nature
- acquisitive instincts
- highly acquisitive
- acquisitive society
Example sentences
- "The highly acquisitive firm bought out three smaller competitors within six months." Corporate Strategy
Memory hook
An ACQUISITIVE person wants to ACQUIRE everything in sight. Always aiming to acquire.
When not to use
Avoid using it for simply collecting harmless hobbies unless the collection is driven by greed or ownership status.
Fun facts
- In corporate law, an 'acquisitive merger' occurs when a company buys another purely to grow its market footprint rapidly.
Related words
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