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

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for athirst
Adjective
  • The 12-year-old started poking fun at his little brother for being so excited about his new bed.
    Caleb Harris, Austin American-Statesman, 22 Nov. 2024
  • Perhaps no one was more excited than her son, Michael, who danced in front of her during her 3-minute speech.
    Taylor Seely, The Arizona Republic, 22 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • This particular selection of 31 drawings survived thanks to one avid collector: Larry Warsh, who first spotted Haring’s work on the New York subway in the 1980s.
    Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Nov. 2024
  • The acquisition made by one avid collector attending an estate sale in the Hudson Valley earlier this month falls into the third category, with a dash of morbidity thrown in for good measure.
    Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • Could bring ‘life-changing money’ for Venice family Yankees star Aaron Judge wins his second AL MVP award in three seasons RAMS From Gary Klein: After the Rams hired Sean McVay in 2017, general manager Les Snead was eager to see the 30-year-old’s head-coaching process at work.
    Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 22 Nov. 2024
  • As Halloween draws near, excitement builds for children eager to trick-or-treat.
    Sarah Darby, Austin American-Statesman, 22 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • In between stops on her Eras tour, Swift has made headlines for her game-day outfits and her enthusiastic support of her man—and has boosted visibility for NFL in the process.
    Glamour, Glamour, 21 Nov. 2024
  • Meanwhile, polls suggest that Democrats are more enthusiastic about the election than Republicans, which could give Harris an edge in turnout.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • If a bat returns to the roost hungry, others may regurgitate a blood meal to get them through the night.
    Sebastian Stockmaier, Discover Magazine, 31 Oct. 2024
  • But the devout young Lewis, who famously preached to the chickens on his family’s land, was hungry to become educated and to involve himself in the civil rights struggle.
    Barbara Spindel, The Christian Science Monitor, 31 Oct. 2024
Adjective
  • Boutin has been in remission from thyroid cancer since August, but just had a related surgery last week and the couple was anxious about Boutin inhaling any smoke.
    CNN.com, The Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2024
  • Joe Biden lost North Carolina by just over one percentage point in 2020, but Harris has been tied or ahead in several recent polls there, and the Trump campaign has been increasingly anxious about it.
    The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • Later in the segment, Underwood discusses his new role in STARZ’s Three Women and reacts to some thirsty tweets.
    Mya Abraham, VIBE.com, 30 Oct. 2024
  • Because hot air is thirstier — and therefore wetter — the rising heat has correlated with a rise in floods as well.
    Saul Elbein, The Hill, 30 Oct. 2024
Adjective
  • Rogan announced his backing of Trump, coming a day before Election Day on Nov. 5, in posting an impromptu episode of podcast with Elon Musk, the mega-billionaire and ardent Trump supporter.
    Todd Spangler, Variety, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Lawmakers from high-tax states — including Republicans — have made clear their ardent devotion to the cause of restoring the deduction.
    Joseph Thorndike, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near athirst

Cite this Entry

“Athirst.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/athirst. Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.

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