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Synonym Chooser

How is the word anxious distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of anxious are athirst, avid, eager, and keen. While all these words mean "moved by a strong and urgent desire or interest," anxious emphasizes fear of frustration or failure or disappointment.

anxious not to make a social blunder

When would athirst be a good substitute for anxious?

Although the words athirst and anxious have much in common, athirst stresses yearning but not necessarily readiness for action.

athirst for adventure

How do avid and eager relate to one another, in the sense of anxious?

Avid adds to eager the implication of insatiability or greed.

avid for new thrills

When is eager a more appropriate choice than anxious?

The synonyms eager and anxious are sometimes interchangeable, but eager implies ardor and enthusiasm and sometimes impatience at delay or restraint.

eager to get started

Where would keen be a reasonable alternative to anxious?

While the synonyms keen and anxious are close in meaning, keen suggests intensity of interest and quick responsiveness in action.

keen on the latest fashions

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of anxious The meal is a constant, anxious audition: for the choicest cut, the hardest sear, the blackest caviar, the frothiest heartburn. Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2025 Jacob Tremblay plays Winston's anxious stepson Wade. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Newsweek, 13 Mar. 2025 In a time when many workers are anxious about what AI means for their roles, leaders who speak to both the potential and the limits of AI are earning deeper trust and keeping their teams engaged. Cheryl Robinson, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2025 For most of its run time, Hallow Road unfolds in a car, as anxious parents respond to a distressed call from their college-age daughter, speeding through the night to get to her in time to help. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for anxious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anxious
Adjective
  • The analysts are worried about the software provider’s earnings in an environment where the federal budget is being cut.
    Jim Cramer, CNBC, 26 Mar. 2025
  • If the Yankees are worried about pitching, Kevin Cash isn’t with his Rays.
    Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The whole exchange left Brooke feeling a little uneasy.
    Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 20 Mar. 2025
  • And of course, various consumer surveys have showed that Americans are feeling uneasy.
    Bryan Mena, CNN, 14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Julianne being available and excited, wanting to come and play in the sandbox; James, similarly.
    EW Staff, EW.com, 28 Mar. 2025
  • So, when the opportunity to visit Tanzania arose, I was intrigued and excited to embark on this journey.
    Ronny Maye, Essence, 28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Dogs might feel scared and nervous or have separation anxiety while home alone.
    Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Mar. 2025
  • If people are scared and nervous, that in and of itself is harm.
    Stephen Daw, Billboard, 26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Other times, Claude’s mental activity seems super disturbing and maybe even dangerous.
    Steven Levy, Wired News, 28 Mar. 2025
  • Just as disturbing and bizarre, at least one juror originally didn’t want to convict Zeigler at all and didn’t vote to do so until after that same judge ordered the bailiff to give her a Valium.
    Scott Maxwell, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • With rising incomes, a booming domestic travel sector and a government eager to improve the country’s tourism infrastructure, India is commanding unprecedented attention from the world’s most prominent hotel brands.
    Ronak D. Desai, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025
  • With big corporations eager to provide visible financial support to the LGBTQ+ community, these celebrations have become bigger, flashier and emblazoned with company logos.
    Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN Money, 30 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Give me the Bulldogs to pull the biggest upset of the second round.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 22 Mar. 2025
  • In 2018, Ryan Odom led UMBC to the first ever No. 16 upset of a No. 1 in the NCAA Tournament.
    Adam Zagoria, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • On Friday, another tense hearing between Judge Boasberg and Trump's Justice Department.
    ABC News, ABC News, 23 Mar. 2025
  • This year — in the wake of California wildfires and a tense presidential inauguration — the need to escape felt even more pronounced.
    Danielle Dorsey, Los Angeles Times, 23 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Anxious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anxious. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.

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