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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 This structured approach can prevent anxious thoughts from dominating the entire flight experience. Matt Robison, Newsweek, 25 Feb. 2025 The Brady Bunch’s perpetually awkward middle sister was constantly overshadowed by older sister Marcia, anxious about her appearance and romantic prospects and over eager to stand out in her family and at school. John Russell, People.com, 21 Feb. 2025 On top of this, feeling anxious about the news can drive people to follow current events even more closely. Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 21 Feb. 2025 Feeling anxious or unhappy isn’t ideal at any point in the day, but having a negativity spiral while trying to sleep can have unique consequences for health. Hannah Singleton, Health, 20 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for anxious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anxious
Adjective
  • In my neighborhood, people are worried about rising costs of everything.
    Robin Holmes, Baltimore Sun, 1 Mar. 2025
  • Safety concerns Residents were also worried about the safety of the gravel roads for horses.
    Emma Hall, Sacramento Bee, 1 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The resolution is seeking $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $2 trillion in spending cuts over the next 10 years, measures that have met opposition from Democrats and made some Republicans uneasy.
    Ross Rosenfeld, Newsweek, 26 Feb. 2025
  • In my conversations with barbecue people, there was often uneasy tension about whether craft barbecue is something new or a return to an old way of doing things.
    Rachel Monroe, The New Yorker, 22 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Create awesome emails that make your dream customers excited to open, ready to buy.
    Jodie Cook, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2025
  • The prospect of an electric AMG supercar is something worth getting excited about.
    Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 4 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Some Trump advisers were nervous the deal might go south before the ceremonial signing, but felt confident by the time Mr. Trump greeted Zelenskyy.
    Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 1 Mar. 2025
  • At the premiere of that film, Brothers At War, in 2009, Joe was nervous.
    Eileen Finan, People.com, 28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • The fact that adult writers are spending their time dissecting my face, my body, my choices is disturbing.
    Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 3 Mar. 2025
  • These findings should be deeply disturbing to Western policymakers, for at least two reasons.
    Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the U.S. and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing for national security.
    Rob Gillies, Chicago Tribune, 6 Mar. 2025
  • Businesses weren’t hiring as much, folks weren’t as eager to quit and those without jobs were staying on the sidelines for longer.
    Alicia Wallace, CNN, 6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • And the charge Jones drew on Bogdan Bogdanović with 1:53 remaining set the table for the Bulls to attempt — and, ultimately, fail — to pull off the upset win.
    Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 27 Feb. 2025
  • The flip side to that is that an upset loss to either would be a death blow.
    Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Video shows President Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vice President JD Vance in a tense meeting Friday before the U.S. and Ukraine were planning to sign a rare earth minerals deal.
    Sarah Lynch Baldwin, CBS News, 28 Feb. 2025
  • The removal occurred during a tense exchange between Trump and Zelensky.
    Dan Perry, Newsweek, 28 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Anxious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anxious. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.

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