Definition of 'eager'
2. adjective
If you look or sound eager, you look or sound as if you expect something interesting or enjoyable to happen.
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
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Word Frequency
eager in British English 1
adjective
1. (postpositive; often foll by to or for)
he was eager to see her departure
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
eagerly (ˈeagerly) adverb
eagerness (ˈeagerness)
noun
Word origin
C13: from Old French egre, from Latin acer sharp, keen
Word Frequency
eager in British English 2
noun
a variant spelling of eagre
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word Frequency
eager in American English 1
adjective
SYNONYMY NOTE: eager1 implies great enthusiasm, zeal, or sometimes impatience, in the desire for a pursuit
of something [eager to begin work]: avid suggests an intense, sometimes greedy, desire to enjoy or possess something [avid for power]; keen1 implies deep interest and a spirited readiness to achieve something [the team was keen on winning]; anxious, in this connection, suggests eagerness, but with some uneasiness over the outcome
[anxious to excel]2. Archaic
sharp; keen
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
eagerly (ˈeagerly)
adverb
eagerness (ˈeagerness)
noun
Word Frequency
eager in American English 2
noun
British
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word Frequency
eager in American English 1
(ˈiɡər)
adjective
SYNONYMS 1. enthusiastic, desirous. See avid. 2. fervent, zealous, fervid, intent, intense, earnest.ANTONYMS 1, 2. indifferent, uninterested. 2. heedless.1.
keen or ardent in desire or feeling; impatiently longing
I am eager for news about them
He is eager to sing
3. obsolete
keen; sharp; biting
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
eagerly adverb
eagerness
noun
Word origin
[1250–1300; ME egre ‹ AF, OF egre, aigre ‹ VL *ācrus for L ācer sharp]Word Frequency
eager in American English 2
(ˈiɡər, ˈeiɡər)
noun
chiefly Brit eagre
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Examples of 'eager' in a sentence
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In other languages
eager
British English: eager
ADJECTIVE /ˈi:ɡə/
If you are eagerto do something, you want to do it very much.
He was eager to talk about life in the Army.
- American English: eager /ˈigər/
- Brazilian Portuguese: ávido
- Chinese: 渴望的
- European Spanish: impaciente
- French: impatient
- German: eifrig
- Italian: desideroso
- Japanese: 熱望する
- Korean: 간절히 바라는
- European Portuguese: ávido
- Latin American Spanish: impaciente
- Thai: กระตือรือร้น, อยากทำมาก
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