Definitions
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The quality of being acquisitive; a propensity to acquire property.
- n. In phrenology, the organ to which is attributed the function of producing the general desire to acquire and possess, apart from the uses of the objects. Sometimes called covetiveness.
- n. See cut under phrenology.
- n. In psychology: The proprietary or collecting instinct.
- n. The capacity for learning or for intellectual acquisition.
Wiktionary
- n. The quality of being acquisitive; propensity to acquire property; desire of possession.
- n. The faculty to which the phrenologists attribute the desire of acquiring and possessing.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The quality of being acquisitive; propensity to acquire property; desire of possession.
- n. (Phren.) The faculty to which the phrenologists attribute the desire of acquiring and possessing.
WordNet 3.0
- n. strong desire to acquire and possess
Etymologies
- acquisitive + -ness (Wiktionary)
Examples
“We might study if acquisitiveness is a characteristic that shows variation due to genetics across population groups.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Approaching Arguments That Have A Racist Past
“The demand of the belly-need is too strong; the friction too great: individuality is repressed, forced to manifest itself in acquisitiveness and selfishness.”
“But other desires kept them active: four in particular, which we can label acquisitiveness, rivalry, vanity, and love of power.”
“Dexter Allison is no doubt an estimable man in many ways, even though, as you feel positive, he has a tendency to acquisitiveness which is deplorable.”
“They spring straight from the acquisitiveness which is a universal characteristic of human nature and indeed of animal and vegetable nature.”
“_Simple_ reflex action, or instinct, answers to the animal faculties, such as acquisitiveness, secretiveness, selfishness, reproductiveness, etc., and accomplishes two important purposes; self-preservation and the reproduction of the specie.”
“I have a tolerable "acquisitiveness" among my other organs, but think I would rather get than keep money, and to earn would always be pleasanter to me than to save.”
“The collector happened, by good luck, to have a large "acquisitiveness," and”
Travels in the Great Desert of Sahara, in the Years of 1845 and 1846
“Up to the year 1830 Phileas, who was thus enabled to exercise his bump of "acquisitiveness," earned every year a sum equivalent to his expenses.”
“Phileas Beauvisage, a virtuous youth, having a deep respect for his mother, concluded the purchase from his patron, and as he had the bump of what phrenologists term "acquisitiveness," his youthful ardor spent itself upon this business, which he thought magnificent and desired to increase by speculation.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘acquisitiveness’.
-
Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11250 more...
-
Rognons of Random Palavery
Another of my random palavery lists for terms and phrases that don't fit into any of my other lists.
priorship, exigeant, refectory, reestablish, capper, reesed, quar, reprune, orificial, reaming-iron, terminist, terminism and 3097 more...
-
To Learn
Words to learn via rote repetition.
atechnic, veridical, abjure, recrudescence, acquisitiveness, adipocere, alembic, adventitious, aliment, alimentiveness, amativeness, anterior and 111 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for acquisitiveness.
Comments
No comments yet...
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.