TOEIC Link Part 5: veracious versus voracious
Veracious and voracious sit one vowel apart and sound nearly the same in rapid speech, but they describe unrelated qualities. Veracious means truthful, honest, and accurate — speaking or reporting the truth. Voracious means greedy or insatiable, whether for food, work, or reading. Part 5 sets them where either could look plausible, so it checks whether you mean honest or hungry. For the wider set of look-alike traps, start with the commonly confused word pairs master index.
The core rule: truthful versus insatiable
- veracious (adjective) = truthful, honest, accurate. The auditor gave a veracious account of the transactions. / Investors valued her veracious reporting. It answers is it true? — yes. Link verac- to verify and veracity: a veracious witness tells the verified truth.
- voracious (adjective) = greedy, ravenous, insatiably eager. He is a voracious reader who finishes a book a day. / The startup had a voracious appetite for new data. It answers how much does it consume? — enormously. Link vorac- to devour: a voracious appetite devours everything in reach.
The stems do the memory work: verac- shares its root with verify and verity (truth); vorac- shares its root with devour and carnivore (eating). One judges honesty; the other judges hunger.
Why Part 5 likes this pair
Both are adjectives, so the noun they modify separates them. If the noun involves statements, accounts, or witnesses being judged for truth, you need veracious. If the noun involves appetite, consumption, or eagerness, you need voracious.
The committee praised the analyst for her __ summary of the events.
A summary judged for truthfulness needs veracious.
The company's __ demand for raw materials strained its suppliers.
Demand described as insatiable needs voracious.
Spotting the clue
Decide whether the sentence is about honesty or hunger:
- Does the word mean truthful or accurate? → choose veracious (a veracious report).
- Does the word mean greedy or extremely eager? → choose voracious (a voracious appetite, a voracious reader).
A quick test: can you replace the word with "truthful" and keep the meaning? Then it is veracious. Can you replace it with "insatiable" or "ravenous"? Then it is voracious. When the sentence weighs whether a statement is true, lean veracious; when it measures how much something consumes or craves, lean voracious. For more sound-alike adjectives that hide in Part 5, see the adjective and adverb confusable pairs study guide.