gung ho

adjective

ˈgəŋ-ˈhō How to pronounce gung ho (audio)
Definition of gung honext
as in excited
showing urgent desire or interest he was gung ho about his accounting class

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of gung ho And even in early adopter states, where lawmakers are gung ho about innovative climate and energy policies, vehicle-to-grid tech is still in its early stages. — Aarian Marshall, Wired News, 9 June 2026 The studio was really gung ho about the film—top movie star, top TV star. — Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 16 June 2024 This place has been a coaching graveyard, but Canales is gung ho about his new job anyway. — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 2 Feb. 2024 Other researchers are less gung ho about such heady prospects. — Daniel Garisto, Scientific American, 10 Aug. 2023 There are merely people who are gung ho about it, and people who would prefer for various reasons to soft-pedal it. — Michael Tomasky, The New Republic, 2 June 2023 Even financial firms, perhaps the most gung ho about return-to-office policies, have mostly caved, resigning themselves to a hybrid future that has, in many cases, stalled out at two-day-a-week callbacks. — Curbed, 15 June 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gung ho
  1. excited
  2. avid
  3. enthusiastic
  4. eager
  5. anxious
Adjective
  • More than 80% of Chinese felt excited about AI applications, KPMG reported last year; only half that percentage of Americans felt the same.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Many studies have found that children get excited about getting their own books in the mail, addressed to them personally.
    — Alex H. Poole, The Conversation, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of excited
Adjective
  • Richard Manoogian, a Detroit industrialist and avid art collector, died at 90 on Friday.
    — Hikmat Mohammed, ARTnews.com, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Sosnick, an avid bicyclist, put an additional $1 million into a pro-Raman committee sponsored by Streets for All, a group that advocates for bike lanes, bus lanes and other street redesigns.
    — David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of avid
Adjective
  • Another enthusiastic response at the summit came from Vermont, formerly home to the 650 MW Vermont-Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, which closed in 2014.
    — John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 4 Oct. 2026
  • But while an enthusiastic and wider-than-ever audience may be listening now, the Grammys have long appeared inured to such outside influence.
    — Leila Cobo, Billboard, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of enthusiastic
Adjective
  • Ambitious mukbang-ers eager to prove their gastronomic stamina descended on Red Lobster locations across the country to consume absurd quantities of shrimp.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The two southern battlegrounds were initially top targets of both political parties, but now appear to be slipping away from Republicans as Democrats grow eager about their chances.
    — Halle Troadec, ABC News, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of eager
Adjective
  • As in the thriller, anxious local leaders debated whether publicizing the peril would scare off tourists.
    — Bob Drogin, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Because of these risks, many conservation groups and lawmakers are anxious to see permanent protections.
    — Christiana Freitag, Chicago Tribune, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of anxious

Browse Nearby Words

gun (for)
gung ho
gunk
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Cite this Entry

“Gung ho.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gung%20ho. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

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