---
title: devour — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «devour» in the school dictionary: To eat something quickly and hungrily, often all of it. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# devour

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** you, She, fire, hungry boys, lion, Ellie · **What happens:** eat, read, watch, take in, devour, destroy · **To what, where:** something, book, forest, someone, pizza, prey · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«devour» in the school dictionary: its 4 meanings for a pupil and its 8 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [devour in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/devour.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To eat something quickly and hungrily, often all of it.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:devour:m1:1
# text = To eat something quickly and hungrily, often all of it.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	eat	eat	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	quickly	quickly	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	hungrily	hungrily	ADV	RB	_	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	often	often	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	2	obl	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **eat** | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  | all *obl*; quickly *property* | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Patient |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To read, watch or take in something eagerly and quickly: «She devoured the book».

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:devour:m2:1
# text = To read, watch or take in something eagerly and quickly: «She devoured the book».
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	read	read	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
4	watch	watch	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	take	take	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	RP	_	6	compound:prt	_	_
8	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	6	obj	_	_
9	eagerly	eagerly	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	quickly	quickly	ADV	RB	_	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	15	punct	_	_
13	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	_
15	devoured	devour	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	parataxis	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	book	book	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **read** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **watch** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **take in** | infinitive | you *not said here* | something |  |  |  | eagerly *property* | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Theme |
| 4 | **devour** *in a quote* | past | She | the book |  |  |  |  | vn devour-39.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent book=Patient |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To destroy something completely: «The fire devoured the forest».

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:devour:m3:1
# text = To destroy something completely: «The fire devoured the forest».
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	destroy	destroy	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	advcl	_	_
3	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	completely	completely	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	2	punct	_	_
6	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	fire	fire	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	devoured	devour	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	forest	forest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **destroy** | to-infinitive | the fire *not said here* | something |  |  |  | completely *property* | vn destroy-44 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Patient |
| 2 | **devour** *in a quote* | past | the fire | the forest |  |  |  |  | vn devour-39.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent forest=Patient |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: of a feeling — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To fill someone completely: «devoured by jealousy».

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:devour:m4:1
# text = To fill someone completely: «devoured by jealousy».
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	fill	fill	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	completely	completely	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	7	punct	_	_
6	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	devoured	devour	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	advcl	_	_
8	by	by	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	jealousy	jealousy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fill** | to-infinitive |  | someone |  |  |  | completely *property* | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent someone=Patient |
| 2 | **devour** *in a quote* | participle |  |  |  |  |  | by jealousy | vn devour-39.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The hungry boys devoured the pizza in minutes.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:devour:x1:1
# text = The hungry boys devoured the pizza in minutes.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	hungry	hungry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	boys	boy	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
4	devoured	devour	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	pizza	pizza	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	minutes	minute	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **devour** | past | the hungry boys | the pizza |  |  | minute |  | vn devour-39.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent pizza=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The lion devoured its prey.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:devour:x2:1
# text = The lion devoured its prey.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	lion	lion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	devoured	devour	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	prey	prey	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **devour** | past | the lion | lion's prey |  |  |  |  | vn devour-39.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent prey=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ellie devoured the whole series of books in a week.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:devour:x3:1
# text = Ellie devoured the whole series of books in a week.
1	Ellie	Ellie	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	devoured	devour	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	whole	whole	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	series	series	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	books	book	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	week	week	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **devour** | past | Ellie | the whole series of books |  |  | week |  | vn devour-39.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent series=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The fire devoured the old barn.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:devour:x4:1
# text = The fire devoured the old barn.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	fire	fire	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	devoured	devour	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	barn	barn	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **devour** | past | the fire | the old barn |  |  |  |  | vn devour-39.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent barn=Patient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the story, the wolf wanted to devour Little Red Riding Hood.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:devour:x5:1
# text = In the story, the wolf wanted to devour Little Red Riding Hood.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	wolf	wolf	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	wanted	want	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	devour	devour	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	xcomp	_	_
10	Little	Little	ADJ	NNP	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
11	Red	Red	ADJ	NNP	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
12	Riding	Riding	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	13	compound	_	_
13	Hood	Hood	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **want** | past | the wolf |  |  | the story |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 2 | **devour** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | the wolf *not said here* | Little Red Riding Hood |  |  |  |  | vn devour-39.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hood=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The caterpillars devoured our cabbages.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:devour:x6:1
# text = The caterpillars devoured our cabbages.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	caterpillars	caterpillar	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	devoured	devour	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	cabbages	cabbage	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **devour** | past | the caterpillars | our cabbages |  |  |  |  | vn devour-39.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cabbage=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He was devoured by curiosity about the locked box.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:devour:x7:1
# text = He was devoured by curiosity about the locked box.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	devoured	devour	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	by	by	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	curiosity	curiosity	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
6	about	about	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	locked	lock	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	9	amod	_	_
9	box	box	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **devour** | past · passive | curiosity about the locked box | He |  |  |  |  | vn devour-39.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subject=Patient |
| 2 | **lock** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn tape-22.4 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Patient |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The dogs come and devour the bacon.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:devour:x8:1
# text = The dogs come and devour the bacon.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	dogs	dog	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	come	come	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	devour	devour	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	bacon	bacon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come** | present | the dogs |  |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **devour** | infinitive | the dogs *not said here* | the bacon |  |  |  |  | vn devour-39.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent bacon=Patient |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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