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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for athirst
Adjective
  • Key Background Leo was born in Chicago as Robert Francis Prevost, and his election as pontiff drew excited responses from Vance and President Donald Trump, who both wished him success in his role leading the Catholic Church.
    Molly Bohannon, Forbes.com, 15 May 2025
  • The nerves turned into excited butterflies as my wave kicked off.
    Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 15 May 2025
Adjective
  • Shah, an avid wine collector, wanted to open his own wine bar.
    Andy Wang, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025
  • Plus, parents’ avid use of social media means that word spreads quickly, giving the approach a leg up compared with targeting a single demographic that isn’t as enthusiastic online.
    Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 21 May 2025
Adjective
  • Like Sánchez, many Chicago-area Catholics are making the nearly 4,000-mile pilgrimage to the Vatican to witness the inauguration Mass and other papal events this month, eager to celebrate one of their own rising to become Catholicism’s spiritual leader.
    Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 17 May 2025
  • Sometimes the person accepting the soft promotion is eager to move up the ladder.
    Dr. Diane Hamilton, Forbes.com, 16 May 2025
Adjective
  • In 2019, Joker received an enthusiastic eight-minute reception in Venice.
    Nancy Tartaglione, Deadline, 13 May 2025
  • And of course, the ship’s enthusiastic and highly experienced dive masters are always there make sure the diving is safe and fun.
    Bill Springer, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025
Adjective
  • Remember the body blow of injustice, and don’t get mad — get hungry.
    Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 9 May 2025
  • The result is a record which captures Motörhead in their formative period, fresh from the early lineup which recorded the tracks that would later make up 1979’s On Parole album, yet hungry with the ambition that would turn them into one of the U.K.’s biggest heavy exports of the ’70s and ’80s.
    Tyler Jenke, Billboard, 9 May 2025
Adjective
  • This productivity decline stems from several factors: Workplace morale deteriorates Remaining employees absorb additional responsibilities Teams become anxious about future job security When employees question whether their leaders truly value them, their enthusiasm and dedication suffer.
    Caroline Castrillon, Forbes.com, 11 May 2025
  • Nobel laureates, such as MIT’s Daron Acemoglu, are worried about its capacity to worsen income inequalities, and ordinary American workers are anxious about AI’s impact on jobs.
    Bhaskar Chakravorti, Harvard Business Review, 8 May 2025
Adjective
  • During the growing season, more than half of our residential water is used for our landscapes, particularly the ubiquitous and thirsty Kentucky bluegrass (which, despite the name, comes from Europe).
    Special to The Denver Post, Denver Post, 9 May 2025
  • Their offense is thirsty, their defense disheveled.
    Marcus Thompson II, New York Times, 3 May 2025
Adjective
  • Among Mao’s most ardent admirers, there’s a sense of pride that the US president appears to be borrowing from the revolutionary playbook of their esteemed supreme leader.
    Nectar Gan, CNN Money, 12 May 2025
  • Prime Minister Modi in India has been a very ardent Hindu nationalist.
    Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 10 May 2025
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Athirst.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/athirst. Accessed 25 May. 2025.

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