Raven definition

rāvən
ravens
See word origin
Frequency:
Black and lustrous.
adjective
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The definition of raven is something that is shiny and black.

An example of something raven is black hair.

adjective
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To consume greedily; devour.
verb
3
2
To devour greedily.
verb
2
1
Raven is defined as a large black bird with a straight and sharp beak.

A large crow is an example of a raven.

noun
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(obs.) To seize forcibly.
verb
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To prowl hungrily; search for prey or plunder.
verb
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To devour food or prey greedily.
verb
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To have a voracious appetite.
verb
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noun
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A common name for several, generally large and lustrous black species of birds in the genus Corvus, especially the common raven, Corvus corax.
noun
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Of the color of the raven; jet-black.

Raven curls.

Raven darkness.

She was a tall, sophisticated, raven-haired beauty.

adjective
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noun
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Prey; plunder; food obtained by violence.
noun
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(archaic) To obtain or seize by violence.
verb
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To devour with great eagerness.
verb
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To prey with rapacity; to be greedy; to show rapacity.

The raven is both a scavenger, who ravens a dead animal almost like a vulture, and a bird of prey, who commonly ravens to catch a rodent.

verb
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anagrams
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A female given name for a girl with raven hair, used since the 1970s.
pronoun
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A large bird (Corvus corax) of the Northern Hemisphere, having black plumage and a croaking cry.
noun
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Any of several similar birds of the genus Corvus, found in Africa, Australia, and southwestern North America.
noun
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Black and shiny.

Raven tresses.

adjective
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1
To seek or seize as prey or plunder.
verb
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1
To seek or seize prey or plunder.
verb
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1
To eat ravenously.
verb
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1
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Any of various large crows; esp., the largest crow (Corvus corax), with a straight, sharp beak, found in Europe, Asia, and North America.
noun
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1

Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
raven
Plural:
ravens

Origin of raven

  • From Middle English ravin, raven rapine, plunder, prey ravin

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English from Old English hræfn

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Old English hræfn, from Proto-Germanic *hrabnaz (compare Dutch raaf, German Rabe, Danish ravn), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱorhâ‚‚- (compare Middle Irish crú, Latin corvus, Lithuanian šárka (“magpie"), Serbo-Croatian svrȁka "˜id.', Ancient Greek κόραξ (kórax)), from *ḱer, *ḱor (compare Latin crepare "˜to creak, crack', Sanskrit kṛ́patÄ“).

    From Wiktionary

  • From Old French raviner (“rush, seize by force"), itself from ravine (“rapine"), from Latin rapina (“plundering, loot"), itself from rapere (“seize, plunder, abduct")

    From Wiktionary

Raven Sentence Examples

  • Thunder tumbled down the San Juan Mountains, heralding the arrival of pelting rain that turned the Jeep road into a surging stream and the sky to an ominous shade of raven black.

  • The woman cocked her head, looking for all the world like a raven.

  • The raven frequently remains even in the colder parts throughout the winter; these, with the Canada jay, waxwing, grosbeak and snow bunting, being the principal birds seen in Manitoba and northern districts in that season.

  • Many of the Celtic goddesses are linked with the raven or crow.

  • Let E 2 describe the observation of a black raven.

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Words near raven in the Dictionary