Learn English – word for the feeling of wanting something material

single-word-requests

If you see an attractive pizza and feel desire, you can say, "I feel hungry". If you see an attractive person and feel desire, you can say, "I feel lust". If you see an attractive car and feel desire, you can say, "I feel _____ ?"

Is there a single word that describes the desire for something material?

I'm thinking "greedy", but that implies a desire for more material possessions generally, it's not specific to seeing a single item and wanting it. "Desire", of course, is accurate, but again that is too general – it's not specific to material goods. Is there a word (or maybe short phrase) specifically describing the desire to acquire a particular item?

Best Answer

Yes: covetous:

feeling or showing a very strong desire for something that you do not have and especially for something that belongs to someone else [M-W]

If you want a noun, covetousness. But here is one case where the verb does most nicely: “I covet that.”

If you can denominate sexual desire with the term lust, I anticipate no insuperable problem with the scriptural baggage of covet.