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
  • Looking ahead, Matt and Hannah are excited to see where the wind will take them and their business.
    Dallas Morning News, Dallas Morning News, 23 Feb. 2026
  • Portage Mayor Austin Bonta was excited for Hammond on Thursday despite the Bears not choosing Portage’s Halas Harbor stadium proposal announced last week.
    Alexandra Kukulka, Chicago Tribune, 20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • In addition to his prowess as a musician, Colón was also an avid sociopolitical activist, lending his voice to endorse New York politicians and on the stages of Latino neighborhoods.
    Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 21 Feb. 2026
  • An avid field recordist, Kamaru has spoken of running his documentations of his surroundings—buses and bustling markets in Nairobi, sirens and birdsong in Berlin—through various types of digital processing, stretching and mulching and interweaving them with synths until the humdrum becomes musical.
    Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 21 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • The pact, part of a realignment of MLB’s sports-rights relationships gives ESPN purview over thousands of games that are made available to fans outside a specific home team’s market — widely seen as some of the most passionate and enthusiastic among followers of the national pastime.
    Brian Steinberg, Variety, 20 Feb. 2026
  • That’s why the Fed’s minutes are being interpreted by many this morning as being relatively hawkish—meaning that the Federal Open Market Committee is less enthusiastic about cutting interest rates further.
    Jim Edwards, Fortune, 19 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • And eager to show his stuff to Team Puerto Rico in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.
    Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 25 Feb. 2026
  • Martha Stewart hosted a luncheon at Joe’s Stone Crab, Italian celebrity butcher Dario Cecchini tossed slabs of beef into an eager dinner crowd, and Ray reprised her Burger Bash, where everything from Kool-Aid pickles to foie gras adorned smashed wagyu patties on potato buns.
    ABC News, ABC News, 24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • At Neuras Wine and Wildlife Estate, on the edge of the Namib Desert, grapes are grown under netting to keep off hungry baboons, meaning there’s plenty for us tipple-loving primates to enjoy.
    Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 21 Feb. 2026
  • Messi is still Messi at 38 years old, hungry as ever and eager to stay fit with the 2026 World Cup approaching this summer.
    Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • By Phillip Reese | KFF Health News After a grueling year of chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation to treat breast cancer, Sadia Zapp was anxious — not the manageable hum that had long been part of her life, but something deeper, more distracting.
    KFF Health News, Oc Register, 23 Feb. 2026
  • After a grueling year of chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation to treat breast cancer, Sadia Zapp was anxious — not the manageable hum that had long been part of her life, but something deeper, more distracting.
    CBS News, CBS News, 23 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • But in the shadows, amid growing unease at the blood-thirsty actions of the realm’s merciless Mad King, dissenters from his inner circle anxiously advance a treasonous plot.
    Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 18 Feb. 2026
  • Check For Underwatering A peace lily with drooping or wilting leaves is probably a thirsty plant.
    Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 17 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • Now, even the invasion's most ardent supporters have been targeted.
    Brittney Melton, NPR, 24 Feb. 2026
  • Crockett has built an ardent social-media following by presenting herself as a feisty avatar of resistance.
    Tad Friend, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 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 25 Feb. 2026.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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