Adjacent Words

Thirst definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

THIRST, n. thurst. [L. torreo.]
1. A painful sensation of the throat or fauces, occasioned by the want of drink.
Wherefore is it that thou hast brought us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? Exodus 17.
2. A vehement desire of drink. Psalms 104.
3. A want and eager desire after any thing.
Thirst of worldly good.
Thirst of knowledge.
Thirst of praise.
Thirst after happiness.
But for is now more generally used after thirst; as a thirst for worldly honors; a thirst for praise.
4. Dryness; drouth.
The rapid current, through veins
Of porous earth with kindly thirst updrawn,
Rose a fresh fountain--
THIRST, v.i. thurst.
1. To experience a painful sensation of the throat or fauces for want of drink.
The people thirsted there for water. Exodus 17.
2. To have a vehement desire for any thing.
My soul thirsteth for the living God. Psalms 42.
THIRST,v.t. To want to drink; as, to thirst blood. [Not English.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a physiological need to drink [syn: thirst, thirstiness]
2: strong desire for something (not food or drink); "a thirst for knowledge"; "hunger for affection" [syn: hunger, hungriness, thirst, thirstiness] v
1: feel the need to drink
2: have a craving, appetite, or great desire for [syn: crave, hunger, thirst, starve, lust]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English thurst; akin to Old High German durst thirst, Latin torr?re to dry, parch, Old Irish tart dryness, thirst, Greek tersesthai to become dry Date: before 12th century 1. a. a sensation of dryness in the mouth and throat associated with a desire for liquids; also the bodily condition (as of dehydration) that induces this sensation b. a desire or need to drink 2. an ardent desire ; craving, longing <a thirst for success> II. intransitive verb Date: before 12th century 1. to feel thirsty ; suffer thirst 2. to crave vehemently and urgently Synonyms: see long • thirster noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a physical need to drink liquid, or the feeling of discomfort caused by this. 2 a strong desire or craving (a thirst for power). --v.intr. (often foll. by for or after) 1 feel thirst. 2 have a strong desire. Etymology: OE thurst, thyrstan f. WG

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Thirst Thirst, n. [OE. thirst, [thorn]urst, AS. [thorn]urst, [thorn]yrst; akin to D. dorst, OS. thurst, G. durst, Icel. [thorn]orsti, Sw. & Dan. t["o]rst, Goth. [thorn]a['u]rstei thirst, [thorn]a['u]rsus dry, withered, [thorn]a['u]rsie[thorn] mik I thirst, ga[thorn]a['i]rsan to wither, L. torrere to parch, Gr. te`rsesqai to become dry, tesai`nein to dry up, Skr. t[.r]sh to thirst. [root]54. Cf. Torrid.] 1. A sensation of dryness in the throat associated with a craving for liquids, produced by deprivation of drink, or by some other cause (as fear, excitement, etc.) which arrests the secretion of the pharyngeal mucous membrane; hence, the condition producing this sensation. Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us, and our children . . . with thirst? --Ex. xvii. 3. With thirst, with cold, with hunger so confounded. --Chaucer. 2. Fig.: A want and eager desire after anything; a craving or longing; -- usually with for, of, or after; as, the thirst for gold. ``Thirst of worldy good.'' --Fairfax. ``The thirst I had of knowledge.'' --Milton.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Thirst Thirst, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Thirsted; p. pr. & vb. n. Thirsting.] [AS. [thorn]yrstan. See Thirst, n.] 1. To feel thirst; to experience a painful or uneasy sensation of the throat or fauces, as for want of drink. The people thirsted there for water. --Ex. xvii. 3. 2. To have a vehement desire. My soul thirsteth for . . . the living God. --Ps. xlii. 2.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Thirst Thirst, v. t. To have a thirst for. [R.] He seeks his keeper's flesh, and thirsts his blood. --Prior.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(thirsts, thirsting, thirsted) 1. Thirst is the feeling that you need to drink something. Instead of tea or coffee, drink water to quench your thirst... I had such a thirst. N-VAR 2. Thirst is the condition of not having enough to drink. They died of thirst on the voyage. 3. A thirst for something is a very strong desire for that thing. Children show a real thirst for learning. = hunger N-SING: usu N for n 4. If you say that someone thirsts for something, you mean that they have a strong desire for it. (LITERARY) We all thirst for the same things. = hunger VERB: V for/after n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

thurst (tsama', verb tsame'; dipsao, dipsos, dipsa): One of the most powerful natural appetities, the craving for water or other drink. Besides its natural significance, thirst is figuratively used of strong spiritual desire. The soul thirsts for God (Ps 42:2; 63:1). Jesus meets the soul's thirst with water of life (Joh 4:13 ff; 6:35; 7:37). It is said of the heavenly bliss, "They shall hunger no more; neither thirst any more" (Re 7:16,17; compare Isa 49:10).

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Desire for drink. 2. Desire, longing, craving, hankering, yearning, appetite, hunger. 3. Dryness, drought, aridity. II. v. n. 1. Desire to drink. 2. Desire, long, crave, hanker, yearn.

Foolish Dictionary

A sensation immediately following a short session at the free lunch stand.

Moby Thesaurus

ache, an universal wolf, appetence, appetency, appetite, appetition, aridity, aridness, avidity, be ravenous, canine appetite, corkiness, covet, coveting, crave, craving, desire, drink up, drought, dryness, eagerness, emptiness, empty stomach, enthusiasm, eye hungrily, fancy, feel hungry, hanker, hanker after, hankering, have a tapeworm, hollow hunger, hunger, hunger after, hunger for, hungriness, itch, itching, juicelessness, long for, longing, lust, lust after, lust for, mania, passion, pine, polydipsia, prurience, pruriency, raven, ravenousness, relish, saplessness, sexual desire, soak up, sponge up, starve, stomach, sweet tooth, tapeworm, taste, thirst for, thirstiness, torment of Tantalus, voraciousness, voracity, waterlessness, watertight integrity, watertightness, wish, wish for, yearn, yearn for, yearning, yen