Avarice is an excessive, insatiable greed for wealth or possessions. It's an overwhelming desire to accumulate more and more, no matter how much you already have, where the pursuit of wealth becomes all-consuming.

Think of the difference between a student who saves their allowance to buy something special and someone consumed by avarice who hoards every penny, never satisfied no matter how much money piles up. A person driven by avarice might refuse to share even when they have plenty, or sacrifice friendships and happiness just to gain more wealth.

In classic stories like A Christmas Carol, the character Scrooge shows avarice when he counts his money obsessively while ignoring the needs of others and his own nephew's invitation to Christmas dinner. His avarice makes him wealthy but miserable and alone.

Avaricious is the adjective form: you might describe someone as an avaricious person or say that someone has an avaricious attitude toward money. Avarice differs from simple greed because it suggests something darker and more consuming, a hunger that can never be filled.