Eagerness Definition & Meaning

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

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 Both countries are eager to see U.S. influence in the region wane, and are worried about any spread of Islamic fundamentalism that might raise the prospect of terrorist activity. — Chao Deng, WSJ, 9 Jan. 2022 Fabian Roger, an eDNA researcher at ETH in Switzerland, is eager to see how the work could be applied to studying insects. — Corryn Wetzel, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Jan. 2022 But Bayless is eager to see what Mayfield looks like after surgery. — Troy L. Smith, cleveland, 4 Jan. 2022 The Hornets and Timberwolves should both be eager to see the Suns again with totally different incentives. — Duane Rankin, The Arizona Republic, 2 Jan. 2022 Amanda Topping, one of the police officers who was there when the bomb went off, is eager to see the area rebuilt. — Arkansas Online, 2 Jan. 2022 Amanda Topping, one of the police officers who was there when the bomb went off, is eager to see the area rebuilt. — New York Times, 1 Jan. 2022 Now a successful entrepreneur and author, in addition to her years in front of the camera, Johnson is eager to see fashion create space for people of color. — Janelle Okwodu, Vogue, 28 Dec. 2021 After hours of working to unseal the small, corroded box, the contents confused and disappointed some local historians who were eager to see the contents of the box. — Michelle Stoddart, ABC News, 27 Dec. 2021

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.

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Dictionary Entries Near eager

Eagan

eager

eager beaver

Statistics for eager

Last Updated

13 Jan 2022

Cite this Entry

“Eager.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eager. Accessed 24 Jan. 2022.

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Choose the Right Synonym for eager

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.