devour

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English devouren, from Old French devorer (Modern French dévorer), from Latin dēvorō, from vorō.

verb

1. To eat quickly, greedily, hungrily, or ravenously.
   Once constituted, capital reproduces itself faster than output increases. The past devours the future. 2017 [2013], Thomas Piketty, translated by Arthur Goldhammer, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Belknap Press, page 571
2. To rapidly destroy, engulf, or lay waste.
   The fire was devouring the building.
   Blast after blast, fiery outbreak after fiery outbreak, like a flaming barrage from within,[…]most of Edison's grounds soon became an inferno. As though on an incendiary rampage, the fires systematically devoured the contents of Edison's headquarters and facilities. 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 1, in Internal Combustion
3. To take in avidly with the intellect or with one's gaze.
   She intended to devour the book.
4. To absorb or engross the mind fully, especially in a destructive manner.
   After the death of his wife, he was devoured by grief.