devoured

Devoured is the past tense and past participle of the verb devour. It describes the act of consuming something completely and often quickly or eagerly. The primary sense is physical consumption of food: for example, a person may devour a meal with gusto.

The sense can be extended metaphorically to non-edible things, such as reading a book or consuming media: one can devour a novel or devour information from a dataset. It can also describe the destruction or depletion of resources, attention, or time: escalating costs can devour a budget, or an urgent task can devour a person’s focus.

Etymology and usage: devour comes from Old French devorer, from Latin devorare, meaning to gulp down or swallow greedily. In English, devoured is used transitively with objects (devour something) and can appear in passive constructions (was devoured). The phrase can carry strong connotations of appetite, intensity, or rapidity, distinguishing it from more neutral verbs like eat, consume, or read.

In contemporary usage, devoured often emphasizes speed and enthusiasm. It appears in journalism, fiction, and everyday speech to convey vigor or voracity. While common with food, it is equally at home with books, news, or resources, underscoring how thoroughly or quickly something is consumed.

See also: devour, voracious, consumption, appetite.