Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Consume \Con*sume"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Consumed}; p. pr. &
   vb. n. {Consuming}.] [L. consumere to take wholly or
   complectely, to consume; con- + sumere to take; sub + emere
   to buv. See {Redeem}.]
   To destroy, as by decomposition, dissipation, waste, or fire;
   to use up; to expend; to waste; to burn up; to eat up; to
   devour.

         If he were putting to my house the brand That shall
         consume it.                              --Shak.

         Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
         neither moth nor rust doth consume.      --Matt. vi. 20
                                                  (Rev. Ver. ).

         Let me alone . . . that I may consume them. --Ex.
                                                  xxxii. 10.

   Syn: To destroy; swallow up; ingulf; absorb; waste; exhaust;
        spend; expend; squander; lavish; dissipate.

Source : WordNet®

consuming
     adj : very intense; "politics is his consuming passion";
           "overwhelming joy" [syn: {overwhelming}]