divorare
/di.voˈra.re/
To gobble up in Italian is divorare.
The verb divorare is used both literally to describe eating food quickly and figuratively to describe consuming things such as information, books or even time.
Meaning: to consume rapidly (verb)
How does it change in a sentence?
As a second-conjugation verb ending in -are, divorare follows standard regular conjugation patterns in the present and past tenses.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation of divorare is /di.voˈra.re/. It has 4 syllables, with the stress on the 3rd syllable.
Did you know?
- While divorare means to gobble up, the Italian word for 'divorce' is divorzio. Both words share a root meaning to separate or split apart, though in the case of eating, it is the splitting of the prey.
- Italian uses divorare to describe a fire that consumes a building, making the fire the subject that 'gobbles up' the structure.
- Unlike the English 'gobble' which often evokes a turkey, divorare is more closely associated with the primal concept of a predator taking its prey.
Examples in context
- Ho ingoiato la pizza in un sol boccone!I gulped down the pizza in one bite!
- In fretta e furia, ho ingoiato tutto il gelato.In a hurry, I wolfed down all the ice cream.
- Divoro la pasta al pesto in pochi minuti!I devour the pesto pasta in just a few minutes!
- Mia sorella ha divorato le patatine fritte in due secondi.My sister gobbled up the French fries in two seconds.
- Quando ha fame, mio fratello spazzola tutto quello che trova!When he's hungry, my brother gobbles up everything he finds!
- Ha divorato un libro in una notte.He gobbled up a book in one night.
- Non puoi divorare tutto il cibo così velocemente.You cannot gobble up all the food so quickly.
Example conversation
Martina and Alessandro are at a dinner party.
- MartinaAlessandro, non divorare il tuo piatto così in fretta!Alessandro, don't gobble up your plate so fast!
- AlessandroScusa, Martina, ma la lasagna era deliziosa.Sorry, Martina, but the lasagna was delicious.
- MartinaSì, ma devi masticare con calma.Yes, but you must chew calmly.
- AlessandroHai ragione, cercherò di rallentare.You are right, I will try to slow down.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry divorare, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
