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'Veracious' means truthful or habitually accurate; 'voracious' means consuming food or information with extreme eagerness.
Side-by-side comparison
"Veracious" describes someone habitually truthful and honest. Uncommon in everyday speech; the noun "veracity" is more frequently used.
His reputation as a veracious journalist was built over thirty years of accurate reporting.
Witnesses are required to be veracious under oath, regardless of the consequences.
Her veracious account of events matched exactly what the security footage showed.
"Voracious" describes an extreme appetite or consumption, whether of food or anything else. "A voracious reader" = someone who reads with insatiable eagerness.
She was a voracious reader who finished three or four books a week throughout her life.
The startup had a voracious appetite for data, processing millions of records each day.
The python is a voracious predator that can consume prey much larger than its own head.
Common mistake
The two words look and sound nearly identical but are unrelated in meaning:
- 1."veracious" (truthful) vs "voracious" (ravenously eager).
- 2."Veracious" is rare enough that many native speakers do not know it: "voracious" is far more common.
Trick to remember it
"Veracious" contains VERA from Latin "veritas" (truth), same root as "verify," "veracity," "verdict." "Voracious" contains VOR from Latin "vorare" (to devour), same root as "carnivore," "herbivore," "devour."
Quick rule
Is it the adjective for truthful or accurate? "Veracious." Is it the adjective for ravenously hungry or eagerly consuming? "Voracious."
Did you know?
The Latin root "veritas" (truth) is the motto of Harvard University, founded in 1636, the oldest university in the United States. From "veritas" come: "verify," "verdict" (literally "true saying"), "verisimilitude" (appearance of truth), "aver" (to affirm as true). The root "vorare" (to devour) gives us: "carnivore," "herbivore," "omnivore," "devour" (from "devorare" = to devour completely).
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
She is a _____ reader. She goes through two or three books a week.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
She is known for being completely _____ . You can trust everything she tells you.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
One means to receive or agree to something, the other means to exclude or not include.
'Advice' is the guidance you receive (noun); 'advise' is the act of giving that guidance (verb).
'Affect' is the verb meaning to influence something; 'effect' is the noun meaning result or consequence.
'Aisle' is the walkway between rows of seats or shelves; 'isle' is a small island.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy