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
  • Tulowitzki, now an assistant coach with the Texas Longhorns, happily obliged — excited to work with a player of Betts’ caliber and, like the rest of the baseball world, also curious to see how the six-time Gold Glove right fielder would fare in his virtually unprecedented position switch.
    Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2025
  • At the time it was streamed, the crew was excited to see dozens of viewers tune in.
    Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News, 20 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • An avid dancer and photographer, Dondé likes to incorporate his artistic passions into his bar offerings, often naming creative libations after his most beloved tunes and entertainers.
    Kristin Tablang, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2025
  • The victim’s 15-year-old daughter Alisha told The News her father was an avid fisherman.
    Ellen Moynihan, New York Daily News, 24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Despite the grim proceedings and grubby environment, the spatial arrangement of the image brings to mind a theatre balcony packed with eager punters ready to consume their money’s worth of entertainment.
    Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 22 Feb. 2025
  • The obvious concern is that such a move could result in a loss of business, as there are always plenty of young publicists who are struggling to build their brands and eager to add a famous name to their client list without being too picky about contract terms.
    James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Sit at the counter and watch the enthusiastic chefs at work.
    Joanne Shurvell, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2025
  • Jones has sounded less than enthusiastic about the prospect of facing Aspinall ever since the Englishman put himself in line for the next shot by capturing the interim heavyweight title.
    Matt Robison, Newsweek, 18 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • New York got an L&L in 2004 and lost it again about a decade later; in the years since, a hungry person in this town wanting plate-lunch flavors had few options.
    Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 16 Feb. 2025
  • The Food for Peace program allows farmers to sell their crops to the government which then distributes the food to feed the hungry abroad.
    Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 15 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Socially anxious and snobby, Victoria is dedicated to keeping her three children on the same affluent life path she's followed.
    Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 18 Feb. 2025
  • Bowen Yang and Andy Samberg’s ’80s-pop-style music video about how everyone who has ever worked on SNL has been an anxious mess was an instant classic.
    Judy Berman, TIME, 17 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Frigid temperatures outside and dry heat inside can send your complexion on a roller coaster, leading to dry, thirsty skin.
    Celia Shatzman, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2025
  • The 1970s were littered with thirsty men in the booth.
    Richard Deitsch, The Athletic, 25 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Even the most ardent Canadian partisans want to see Canada beat the best possible version of Team USA on Thursday, surely.
    Thomas Drance, The Athletic, 19 Feb. 2025
  • But at the same time, many of Mr. Trump’s most ardent supporters — especially those who are most plugged into new conservative intellectual currents — are following Mr. Vance’s lead and trying to undermine the authority of any judge who rules against the president.
    Mattathias Schwartz, New York Times, 15 Feb. 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 3 Mar. 2025.

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