Definition of EAGERNESS

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

Despite their differences, both sides appear eager for another meeting between the two leaders, suggesting that the overall dialogue is unlikely to collapse even if this week’s talks make little headway. — Andrew Jeong, WSJ, "U.S., North Korea Toughen Stance Ahead of Nuclear Talks," 6 Nov. 2018 Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Commentators have wondered why some House Democrats seem eager to oust Nancy Pelosi as the leader of their party. — Matthew Green, Vox, "What Pelosi’s defenders miss," 29 Oct. 2018 That night, the audience seemed almost too eager to congratulate itself on being above and beyond the play’s brutish men and suffering women. — Brendan Kiley, The Seattle Times, "For all its horrors, ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ at Seattle Rep feels uncomfortably comforting," 15 Oct. 2018 She and Harry reportedly delayed their honeymoon to attend, confirming just how eager Meghan was to start her life as a working member of the royal family. — Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, "Inside Meghan Markle's First 100 Days in the Royal Family," 27 Aug. 2018 Recently, the Supreme Court has appeared more eager to protect Americans' digital property from unreasonable search, not just their physical property. — Issie Lapowsky, WIRED, "Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court Could Spell Trouble for Tech," 10 July 2018 Whether authors make arguments that changes to history could have resulted in a modern utopia or dystopia, all seem eager to delve into the historical record in search of opportunities to break it. — Lorraine Boissoneault, Smithsonian, "What if Napoleon Hadn’t Lost Europe and Other Questions of Alternate History," 14 June 2018 On Monday, Trump appeared eager to drive a wedge between the Eagles' players and their fans. — NBC News, "Trump cancels Eagles' Super Bowl ceremony, citing anthem dispute," 4 June 2018 This is why the Republican Party’s most overt enthno-nationlists (i.e. Congressman Steve King and White House policy adviser Stephen Miller) are so eager to slash legal inflows. — Eric Leivtz, Daily Intelligencer, "For Democrats, Immigration Is a Political Problem Without a Policy Solution," 2 July 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.