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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 Some anxious fans waited eight hours then to get close to the attraction’s Hogwarts Castle. Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 May 2025 Earlier, in an anxious state over the prospect of finishing her novel, Agathe is pessimistic. Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 22 May 2025 Henry initially felt anxious about others possibly perceiving her decision to go blonde as an attempt to emulate whiteness or as an expression of self-hate. Martine Thompson, Essence, 21 May 2025 The most anxious voices often hold the most influence. Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for anxious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anxious
Adjective
  • However, because the pool was shallow, Lisberg was less worried.
    Raven Brunner, People.com, 25 May 2025
  • While Herzig is hoping to win a million dollars, his guests are all worried about their own various fantasy teams, mostly competing for a few hundred bucks.
    David Hill, Rolling Stone, 24 May 2025
Adjective
  • Today, hydrogen bombs have replaced atom bombs in most arsenals, creating a world of uneasy standoffs among nuclear foes.
    William J. Broad, New York Times, 19 May 2025
  • But the vote was not unanimous and left Councilman Kevin O’Neill feeling uneasy.
    Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 16 May 2025
Adjective
  • But for his versatility, the variety in his attacking link-up and movement, and his ever-presence in a tough City season, there is reason to be excited for what lies ahead.
    Thom Harris, New York Times, 28 May 2025
  • Artist Tina Birkhoff said this was her first year displaying her work at the event and was very excited to be at the show over the weekend.
    David Sharos, Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2025
Adjective
  • The price of gold tends to move when markets get nervous – and so does the gold.
    Ken Roberts, Forbes.com, 24 May 2025
  • That said, one moment in the final episode did make Brashear nervous.
    Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 22 May 2025
Adjective
  • Nothing has officially happened yet, but the tension is disturbing with the consequences potentially devastating.
    Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 May 2025
  • That’s a quite disturbing possibility since AGI could wield such an act on a scale of immense magnitude and with globally adverse consequences.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 24 May 2025
Adjective
  • Like Sánchez, many Chicago-area Catholics are making the nearly 4,000-mile pilgrimage to the Vatican to witness the inauguration Mass and other papal events this month, eager to celebrate one of their own rising to become Catholicism’s spiritual leader.
    Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 17 May 2025
  • Sometimes the person accepting the soft promotion is eager to move up the ladder.
    Dr. Diane Hamilton, Forbes.com, 16 May 2025
Adjective
  • Santa Margarita 6, Huntington Beach 5: Chase Marlow singled in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning to give the Eagles an upset over Sunset League champion Huntington Beach.
    Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2025
  • Conservatives, who are upset that that bill does not make steep enough spending cuts to significantly bring down the deficit, have pushed for Medicaid work requirements to kick in much sooner than a 2029 deadline.
    Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 20 May 2025
Adjective
  • Streaming on Paramount+ Paramount+ Mission: Impossible — Fallout Maybe it’s called Fallout because this one’s lousy with plutonium cores, recaptured nuclear bombs, tense disarming sequences, and explosions.
    Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 23 May 2025
  • The posts tee up a potentially tense exchange between U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and his European counterpart later Friday morning.
    Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 23 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Anxious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anxious. Accessed 1 Jun. 2025.

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