Adjacent Words

Eager definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

E'AGER, a. [L. acer, fierce, brisk, sharp, sour; acus, Eng.edge.]
1. Excited by ardent desire in the pursuit of any object; ardent to pursue, perform or obtain; inflamed by desire; ardently wishing or longing. The soldiers were eager to engage the enemy. Men are eager in the pursuit of wealth. The lover is eager to possess the object of his affections.
2. Ardent; vehement; impetuous; as eager spirits; eager zeal; eager clamors.
3. Sharp; sour; acid; as eager droppings into milk. [Little used.]
4. Sharp; keen; biting; severe; as eager air; eager cold. [Little used.]
5. Brittle; inflexible; not ductile; as, the gold is too eager. [Local.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: having or showing keen interest or intense desire or impatient expectancy; "eager to learn"; "eager to travel abroad"; "eager for success"; "eager helpers"; "an eager look" [ant: uneager] n
1: a high wave (often dangerous) caused by tidal flow (as by colliding tidal currents or in a narrow estuary) [syn: tidal bore, bore, eagre, aegir, eager]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English egre, from Anglo-French egre, aigre, from Latin acer — more at edge Date: 14th century 1. a. archaic sharp b. obsolete sour 2. marked by enthusiastic or impatient desire or interest • eagerly adverb • eagerness noun Synonyms: 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>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 a full of keen desire, enthusiastic. b (of passions etc.) keen, impatient. 2 keen, impatient, strongly desirous (eager to learn; eager for news). Phrases and idioms: eager beaver colloq. a very or excessively diligent person. Derivatives: eagerly adv. eagerness n. Etymology: ME f. AF egre, OF aigre keen, ult. f. L acer acris

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Eager Ea"ger, a. [OE. egre sharp, sour, eager, OF. agre, aigre, F. aigre, fr. L. acer sharp, sour, spirited, zealous; akin to Gr. ? highest, extreme, Skr. a?ra point; fr. a root signifying to be sharp. Cf. Acrid, Edge.] 1. Sharp; sour; acid. [Obs.] ``Like eager droppings into milk.'' --Shak. 2. Sharp; keen; bitter; severe. [Obs.] ``A nipping and an eager air.'' ``Eager words.'' --Shak. 3. Excited by desire in the pursuit of any object; ardent to pursue, perform, or obtain; keenly desirous; hotly longing; earnest; zealous; impetuous; vehement; as, the hounds were eager in the chase. And gazed for tidings in my eager eyes. --Shak. How eagerly ye follow my disgraces! --Shak. When to her eager lips is brought Her infant's thrilling kiss. --Keble. A crowd of eager and curious schoolboys. --Hawthorne. Conceit and grief an eager combat fight. --Shak. 4. Brittle; inflexible; not ductile. [Obs.] Gold will be sometimes so eager, as artists call it, that it will as little endure the hammer as glass itself. --Locke. Syn: Earnest; ardent; vehement; hot; impetuous; fervent; intense; impassioned; zealous; forward. Usage: See Earnest. -- Eager, Earnest. Eager marks an excited state of desire or passion; thus, a child is eager for a plaything, a hungry man is eager for food, a covetous man is eager for gain. Eagerness is liable to frequent abuses, and is good or bad, as the case may be. It relates to what is praiseworthy or the contrary. Earnest denotes a permanent state of mind, feeling, or sentiment. It is always taken in a good sense; as, a preacher is earnest in his appeals to the conscience; an agent is earnest in his solicitations.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Eager Ea"ger, n. Same as Eagre.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If you are eager to do or have something, you want to do or have it very much. Robert was eager to talk about life in the Army... When my own son was five years old, I became eager for another baby... The low prices still pull in crowds of eager buyers. = keen ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, ADJ to-inf, ADJ for n • eagerness ...an eagerness to learn. N-UNCOUNT 2. If you look or sound eager, you look or sound as if you expect something interesting or enjoyable to happen. Arty sneered at the crowd of eager faces around him... Her voice was girlish and eager. = excited ADJ • eagerly 'So what do you think will happen?' he asked eagerly. ADV • eagerness ...a woman speaking with breathless eagerness. = excitement

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Longing, yearning, greedy, anxious, impatient, keenly desirous. 2. Ardent, zealous, enthusiastic, vehement, impetuous, forward, earnest, animated, fervent, fervid, glowing, hot, sanguine. 3. (Poetical.) Sharp, keen, biting, mordant, nipping, stinging.

Moby Thesaurus

accordant, acquiescent, acquisitive, affirmative, agape, agog, agreeable, agreeing, alacritous, all agog, ambitious, amenable, animated, anticipant, anticipating, anticipative, anticipatory, antsy, antsy-pantsy, anxious, appetitive, approving, ardent, assenting, athirst, avid, awaiting, breathless, bursting to, certain, chafing, compliable, compliant, confident, consentient, consenting, content, cooperative, covetous, craving, desiderative, desireful, desiring, desirous, disposed, docile, dying, earnest, edgy, endorsing, energetic, energized, enthusiastic, excited, expectant, expecting, fain, favorable, favorably disposed, favorably inclined, fervent, fervid, forearmed, forestalling, forewarned, forward, fretful, fretting, full of life, game, gaping, gung ho, hankering, hasty, heated, honing, hopeful, hoping, hopped-up, hormic, hot, hungry, impatient, impetuous, in a lather, in a stew, in a sweat, in anticipation, in expectation, in the mind, in the mood, inclined, inspirited, intent, itchy, keen, lascivious, libidinal, libidinous, lickerish, lively, longing, looking for, looking forward to, lustful, minded, needing, not surprised, nothing loath, on edge, optative, optimistic, panting, passionate, permissive, pining, pliant, predisposed, prepared, prompt, prone, quick, raring, raring to, ratifying, ready, ready and willing, receptive, responsive, restive, restless, sanctioning, sanguine, solicitous, spirited, squirming, squirmy, stimulated, submissive, sure, tempted, thirsty, tractable, uneasy, ungrudging, unloath, unpatient, unquiet, unrefusing, unreluctant, unsurprised, vehement, vital, vitalized, vivacious, vivid, waiting, waiting for, wanting, watching for, well-disposed, well-inclined, willed, willing, willinghearted, wishful, wishing, yearning, zealous, zestful