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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 Fahy gives a captivating performance as an anxious woman struggling to keep it together on her first date in years. Glenn Garner, Deadline, 9 Mar. 2025 His jump into a world tour comes as no surprise — Seavey has been anxious to hit the road. Kristen Wisneski, Billboard, 7 Mar. 2025 Some of the more anxious among us (OK, me) might even push that to pre-spring, as in late February or early March, if only to provide a beacon of hope during the year’s gloomiest months. Mary McNamara, The Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2025 While many companies rapidly integrate AI, this data reveals a growing disconnect: employees are increasingly anxious about its impact. Julian Hayes Ii, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for anxious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anxious
Adjective
  • About 47 million people faced an enhanced to moderate severe storm threat from Madison, Wis., to Birmingham, Ala. Forecasters grew increasingly worried that intense thunderstorms farther south will likely bring an even greater tornado threat Saturday.
    Sean Murphy and Russ Bynum, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2025
  • Citi, which went to $430 a share from $490, is worried about increasing competition and slowing growth.
    Jim Cramer, CNBC, 14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The film follows Ne Zha, a demon child raised by humans, who must embark on a perilous quest to obtain an elixir to restore the body of his uneasy ally, the dragon prince Ao Bing.
    Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 10 Mar. 2025
  • Based on the Chinese novel Fengshen Yanyi (Investiture Of The Gods), the story follows a demon child raised by humans, who forms an uneasy alliance with the dragon prince, Ao Bing, in an epic battle to protect their clans.
    Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 10 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • While some locals are excited to gossip about the church, others are much more tight-lipped.
    Guthrie Scrimgeour, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2025
  • March Madness is here and fans are excited to watch one of the more popular events of the sports calendar year.
    Mark Davis, Newsweek, 16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Mitch [Hurwitz, the show creator] was very nervous.
    Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2025
  • Trump won't be on the ballot again, but this week had to make a lot of Republicans who will be very nervous.
    Domenico Montanaro, NPR, 14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • While no human-affecting viruses have been revived yet, the fact that ancient microbes can persist in a viable state raises a disturbing possibility: what else is hidden in the deep freeze, waiting to wake up?
    Scott Travers, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2025
  • The possibility of losing Miami Beach's only art house cinema is disturbing to Tabsch, a filmmaker whose 2018 documentary The Last Resort, was about Miami Beach's Jewish community in the 1970s.
    Mandalit del Barco, NPR, 15 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The fictional couple’s dynamic was one of the most compelling elements of the original series, and fans will be eager to see how their story unfolds in the new chapter.
    Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 18 Mar. 2025
  • The test kitchen concept is one that Milo's is eager to share with the community and their biggest fans.
    Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 18 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Men’s Pro Singles Recap The venue was rocked by a huge upset on Thursday afternoon, when 16-yr old Floridian No. 40 seed John Lucian Goins shocked the No. 1 seed Ben Johns in the quarters.
    Todd Boss, Forbes, 10 Mar. 2025
  • Was this one of those days for an unthinkable upset?
    Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 9 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The world’s biggest trading bloc was expecting the U.S. tariffs and prepared in advance, but the measures still place great strain on already tense transatlantic relations.
    TIME, TIME, 12 Mar. 2025
  • The recent polling comes after Trump had a tense confrontation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office leading to a pause in U.S. military aid to Ukraine.
    Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 12 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Anxious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anxious. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.

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