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Lucus Ong Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Greed and greediness
Could anybody tell me how to differentiate them?
In my opinion ,greed is more tangible and greediness is the quality of being greedy.
Although I know this rule , I still can't differentiate them easily.
*the greed with which large companies swallow up their smaller competitors
* consumed with greed and envy
Many thanks in advance
In my opinion ,greed is more tangible and greediness is the quality of being greedy.
Although I know this rule , I still can't differentiate them easily.
*the greed with which large companies swallow up their smaller competitors
* consumed with greed and envy
Many thanks in advance
Top answer
I agree that "greediness" is the quality of being greedy, and "greed" ought to be a more direct word, but in practice it's not easy to think of sentences where "greediness" could not be replaced by "greed" with effectively the same meaning. "greed" is a much more common word, so replacing "greed" by "greediness" can make a sentence sound less obviously natural, but, again, the actual difference in meaning usually seems minimal or non-existent. Perhaps an example of a difference might be when describing a person's propensity to eat large amounts.
- I agree that "greediness" is the quality of being greedy, and "greed" ought to be a more direct word, but in practice it's not easy to think of sentences where "greediness" could not be replaced by "greed" with effectively the same meaning.
- "greed" is a much more common word, so replacing "greed" by "greediness" can make a sentence sound less obviously natural, but, again, the actual difference in meaning usually seems minimal or non-existent.
- Perhaps an example of a difference might be when describing a person's propensity to eat large amounts.
- Because "greed" very often means greed for wealth, I think I might tend to say, for example, "his greediness amazes me" rather than "his greed amazes me" if I intended that meaning.
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1 Answers
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I agree that "greediness" is the quality of being greedy, and "greed" ought to be a more direct word, but in practice it's not easy to think of sentences where "greediness" could not be replaced by "greed" with effectively the same meaning. "greed" is a much more common word, so replacing "greed" by "greediness" can make a sentence sound less obviously natural, but, again, the actual difference i
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