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

And with some of Africa’s most navigable roads, self-drive travel has exploded, especially among millennials eager for Instagram fodder. — Mary Holland, Condé Nast Traveler, "Why Your Next Safari Should Be in Namibia," 6 Nov. 2018 In the meantime, the Trump administration is eager to keep gasoline prices low, especially as the midterm elections approach. — Clifford Krauss, The Seattle Times, "Saudis issued warnings against U.S. sanctions. But how much leverage do they have?," 16 Oct. 2018 Wendig largely matter-of-fact and supportive about the idea that Sykes was charging through the woods murdering people with a machete, Sykes blissfully naïve and eager for more words of wisdom about his inevitable doom. — Tasha Robinson, The Verge, "In You Might Be the Killer, a Twitter thread expands into a horror-comedy — barely," 5 Oct. 2018 Some fans are even eager for Amy and Chris to get engaged, especially because Chris has never been married before. — Amina Lake Abdelrahman, Good Housekeeping, "Amy Roloff Celebrates Boyfriend Chris's Birthday With an Adorable Instagram Photo," 13 Aug. 2018 Meghan's touching tribute to her future daughter is yet another hint that the royal is eager to become a mother. — Maggie Maloney, Town & Country, "The Sweet Connection Meghan Markle's Favorite Watch Has to the Late Princess Diana," 13 Aug. 2018 So people started injecting more details about their absences, about the myriad of nonwork things that demand their time, to invoke some understanding from the senders eager for their response. — Marina Koren, The Atlantic, "The Most Extreme Out-of-Office Message," 11 June 2018 Consumers in Asia eager for fish and fresh produce from northwest Mexico that is delivered by air freight services. — Sandra Dibble, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Former mayor launches bid to turn Tijuana into air cargo hub," 4 June 2018 Western nations have remained careful in calibrating their responses, to neither disgruntle the wealthy and investment-eager Saudi leadership nor domestic human rights supporters too much. — Rick Noack, The Seattle Times, "85,000 children have starved to death during the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen, charity reports," 21 Nov. 2018

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.