WordWeb Online

1. Very strong; urgently felt
   "politics is his consuming passion";
   - overwhelming

1. Use (resources or materials) over time in order to function
   "this car consumes a lot of gas";
   - eat up, use up, eat, deplete, exhaust, run through, wipe out
    
2. Eat up completely, as with great appetite
   - devour, demolish, down [informal], go through
    
3. Eat, esp. normally or regularly
   "I don't consume sugar in my coffee";
   - ingest, take in, take, have
    
4. Spend extravagantly
   "consume not, want not";
   - squander, waste, ware [archaic]
    
5. Destroy completely
   "The fire consumed the building"
    
6. Engage fully
   "The effort to pass the exam consumed all his energy"

See also: intense

Type of: absorb, destroy, drop, eat up, engage, engross, expend, finish, occupy, polish off [informal], ruin, spend

Antonym: refrain

Encyclopedia: Consuming