Definition of pleonexia in English:
pleonexia
noun pliːəˈnɛksɪəˌplēəˈneksēə
mass nounrare Extreme greed for wealth or material possessions; avarice.
Example sentencesExamples
- He presents pleonexia as a first principle of human nature.
- When a man has pleonexia in his heart he loses sight of God in a mad desire to get.
- Because we stand to lose more than we could gain from unbridled pleonexia we have entered into a compact neither to do nor to allow injustice.
- Pleonexia is associated with the rational part of the soul.
- He portrays them as deeply divided, because their pleonexia leaves them dissatisfied and full of self-hatred.
Synonyms
avarice, greediness, acquisitiveness, covetousness, rapacity, graspingness, cupidity, avidity, possessiveness, materialism
Derivatives
adjective
rare By nature we are all pleonectic.
Example sentencesExamples
- The attempted lawgiving of the wolf commander is undermined by the lawgiver's pleonectic sequestering of his own booty from the hunt.
- The desire to have more than one's share and to deprive others of their basic needs spawns pathological behavior in the pleonectic person.
- Given the conventional character of justice and our own pleonectic nature, why should any one of us be just, in any context in which injustice would be profitable?
- The legislators will have to seek out and punish those who exhibit pleonectic desires.
Origin
Mid 19th century: Greek, from pleonektein 'be greedy', from pleiōn 'more' + ekhein 'have'.