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The Finer Points of Avid
The original and now relatively unfamiliar sense of avid, “desirous to the point of greed,” developed logically from its root in Latin, avēre (meaning “to long for”). It appears in such phrases as “avid of fame” and “avid for details,” expressions we are more likely to encounter in formal writing than in speech. More common today is the word’s somewhat weakened and ameliorated (that is, “made better,” or given a more positive connotation) meaning “extremely enthusiastic.” This is the sense regularly used of people who have embraced some hobby or pursuit (such as avid readers, gardeners, or knitters).
Examples of avid in a Sentence
Miguel Otárola, Denver Post, 10 Sep. 2025
On the milder side, bowling lanes were first installed indoors in 1947 and Richard Nixon was an avid bowler.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
For a few days thereafter avid k-drama fans—as well as those curious about k-dramas—can see titles such as Reborn Rich, which stars Song Joong-ki, Lovely Runner, which stars Byeon Woo-seeok and Kim Hye-yoon, and My Dearest Nemesis, starring Mun Ka-young and Choi Hyun-wook.
—Joan MacDonald, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Completed in 2010, the 46,000-square-foot building was named after philanthropists and avid art enthusiasts Eli and Edythe Broad, who have amassed a wealth of contemporary and postwar art during four decades of collecting.
—Mae Hamilton, AFAR Media, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for avid
Cite this Entry
“Avid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/avid. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
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avid
adjective
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