Definition of athirstnext

Synonym Chooser

How is the word athirst distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of athirst are anxious, avid, eager, and keen. While all these words mean "moved by a strong and urgent desire or interest," athirst stresses yearning but not necessarily readiness for action.

athirst for adventure

When might anxious be a better fit than athirst?

The synonyms anxious and athirst are sometimes interchangeable, but anxious emphasizes fear of frustration or failure or disappointment.

anxious not to make a social blunder

How do avid and eager relate to one another, in the sense of athirst?

Avid adds to eager the implication of insatiability or greed.

avid for new thrills

In what contexts can eager take the place of athirst?

The meanings of eager and athirst largely overlap; however, eager implies ardor and enthusiasm and sometimes impatience at delay or restraint.

eager to get started

When would keen be a good substitute for athirst?

In some situations, the words keen and athirst are roughly equivalent. However, keen suggests intensity of interest and quick responsiveness in action.

keen on the latest fashions

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for athirst
Adjective
  • People have been particularly excited about your chemistry with Steve Carell.
    David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 13 Apr. 2026
  • After a four-year hiatus, creator Sam Levinson was excited to take the high-school characters into adulthood.
    Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Takaichi is a hard rock and heavy metal music fan and was an avid drummer in her college days.
    ABC News, ABC News, 10 Apr. 2026
  • The president's eldest grandchild is an avid golfer who committed to play for the University of Miami's collegiate team this fall.
    Linda Marx, PEOPLE, 10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Boomer is particularly enthusiastic to introduce the world to the latter actress, who previously appeared in Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans and Prime Video's Hunters.
    Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Apr. 2026
  • Chinese people, particularly younger ones, have long been enthusiastic about wordplay.
    ABC News, ABC News, 9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Ground zero Last year, Glenn Roquemore, who chairs the education committee of the Flying Leathernecks Heritage Foundation, was searching for eager students to build the iconic Jenny plane, based off of one that had been crashed and never restored.
    Victoria Le, Oc Register, 14 Apr. 2026
  • The casting has been highly anticipated, with fans eager to see how the EmHen universe love stories will translate onscreen — even going so far as to share dream casting choices.
    Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 14 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • William Atherton’s Jerry Hathaway—the money-hungry mad king behind Project Crossbow—is unfortunately medium plausible.
    Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 10 Apr. 2026
  • Angela is slinky, pliable, and hungry to please, all but tearing up the Hays Code without lifting a finger.
    Joshua John Miller, Vanity Fair, 9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • The 60-year-old was anxious at the onset of the spring planting season, rattling off the long list of issues affecting his family’s livelihood at their 2,000-acre farm near Wahoo, Nebraska.
    ABC News, ABC News, 13 Apr. 2026
  • Like him, Rue is squirming under Laurie’s thumb, anxious to get out.
    Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Plants have a shallow root system, so allow plenty of space for roots to develop when planting around foundations, hardscape, and thirsty trees and shrubs.
    Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 10 Apr. 2026
  • Selling a lot of thirsty V8s lowered the company’s average fuel economy.
    Byron Hurd, The Drive, 8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • The most ardent supporters of the KMT, a political party opposed to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, are often members of older generations who continue to identify culturally as Chinese.
    Michelle Kuo, The Dial, 14 Apr. 2026
  • Even the most ardent proponents of AI are concerned.
    Konstantin Kakaes, Quanta Magazine, 13 Apr. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Athirst.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/athirst. Accessed 16 Apr. 2026.

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