Avarice is a desire to have a lot of money that other people judge as too strong — a hunger for wealth that looks ugly, even sinful, in old stories. It is a bookish, rather old word. You meet it in literature, in sermons, and in phrases like “greed and avarice.” Everyday English usually just says greed. Though actually, greed can be for food, fame, or things; avarice points especially at money. Calling something avarice is heavier and more moral than “Don’t be greedy,” which is what a parent says about a second cake. This word sounds like a verdict. Younger speakers almost never use it in chat; they will still recognise it in a story about a miser who cannot stop counting coins.