Definition of EAGER

Choose the Right Synonym for eager

eager, avid, keen, anxious, athirst mean moved by a strong and urgent desire or interest. eager implies ardor and enthusiasm and sometimes impatience at delay or restraint. eager to get started avid adds to eager the implication of insatiability or greed. avid for new thrills keen suggests intensity of interest and quick responsiveness in action. keen on the latest fashions anxious emphasizes fear of frustration or failure or disappointment. anxious not to make a social blunder athirst stresses yearning but not necessarily readiness for action. athirst for adventure

eager, anxious, and keen mean having or showing a strong desire or interest. eager is used when there is much enthusiasm and often impatience. Eager travelers waited for their train. anxious is used when there is fear of failure or disappointment. I was anxious to learn who won. keen is used when there is great interest and readiness to act. The new scouts are keen to learn.

Examples of eager in a Sentence

… wine connoisseurs eager to visit cellars and late-fall pilgrims seeking the increasingly rare white truffle … — Corby Kummer, Atlantic, August 2000 … so many religions were steeped in an absolutist frame of mind—each convinced that it alone had a monopoly on the truth and therefore eager for the state to impose this truth on others. — Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World, 1996 She was eager to get started. The crowd was eager for more.

Recent Examples on the Web

When a buck showed up on a Saugatuck beach over Fourth of July weekend, beach-goers were eager to film, photograph and even pet the animal. — Emma Keith, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan biologist on viral deer video: Leave it alone next time," 9 July 2019 Perhaps not, but transit executives are eager to reverse the ridership declines that many of their systems face. — David Zipper, WIRED, "Public Transit Agencies Think Rewards Programs Can Bring Back Riders," 7 July 2019 Despite Wednesday’s result, Rowe said that his teammates are eager to return to the field against Philadelphia. — Julia Poe, Pro Soccer USA, "Orlando City confident it can avenge loss during road rematch with Philadelphia Union," 6 July 2019 Besides standardized tests and charter schools, teachers faced threats from Republicans who pushed right-to-work laws, and millionaires who favored some of the same ideas Democrats were pursuing and were eager to get into the schools business. — Dylan Scott, Vox, "The strike that brought teachers unions back from the dead," 5 July 2019 Apparently, the hacker was so eager to get into Massimo's files again that OPSEC was totally abandoned. — Sean Gallagher, Ars Technica, "Penetration testing takes on new meaning when cyber meets Harlequin," 5 July 2019 Then there’s Travis (Zach Garcia), the former high school football star who’s eager to host and promote the pageant to get back in the public eye. — Renee Valois, Twin Cities, "Park Square’s ‘Jefferson Township Sparkling Junior Talent Pageant’ is over-the-top absurd — and hilarious," 29 June 2019 The Trump campaign was willing and eager to work with a foreign adversary to interfere in our elections. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Rep. Scott Peters calls for U.S. House to start impeachment proceedings," 26 June 2019 D’Antoni is prepared to coach out the final year of his contract, but there are not many quality assistants out there eager to work on one year deals. — Chris Mannix, SI.com, "2019 NBA Free Agency Primer: Rumors, Stakes and More Buzz," 26 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'eager.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.