eager

adjective

ea·​ger ˈē-gər 

1

: marked by enthusiastic or impatient desire or interest

2

a

archaic : sharp

b

obsolete : sour

eagerly adverb

eagerness noun

Synonyms of eager

• excited
• enthusiastic
• avid
• anxious
• keen

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

Teams have been less willing to let San Diego play through central zones, less surprised by its buildup structure and more eager to test the space behind its fullbacks and center backs. —Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 May 2026

And people who are eager to lose extra weight — before a wedding or a vacation, for example — may choose to self-administer a higher-than-recommended dose, said Arthur Caplan, a bioethics professor at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine. —Maia Rosenfeld, NBC news, 29 May 2026

Paul Schrader has long been on the record as an advocate of AI – or at least as a rare 79-year-old filmmaker eager to experiment with technology. —Dade Hayes, Deadline, 28 May 2026

Like many other reporters, Moran is eager to find new ways to keep chronicling the world around him. —Brian Steinberg, Variety, 28 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English egre, from Anglo-French egre, aigre, from Latin acer — more at edge

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing eager

• eager beaver

Rhymes for eager

• leaguer
• meager
• meagre
• segar

Kids Definition

eager

adjective

ea·​ger ˈē-gər 

: having or showing an impatient or enthusiastic desire or interest

was eager to get going

eagerly adverb

eagerness noun

Etymology

Middle English egre "sharp, sour, keen," from early French aigre (same meaning), from Latin acer (same meaning) — related to vinegar