athirst

9.9

Very eager to have or learn something

adjective
/əˈθɜrst/

Archaic

: sediento

Feeling athirst for adventure, she decided to travel around the world.

Examples

After a long hike, I was athirst for water and quickly reached for my canteen.
And let him that is athirst come.

Blog text (22)
"Or this," the Spirit and the Bride say, "Come, and let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will let him take the water of life freely."

Blog text (27)
The students were athirst for knowledge, eager to learn about the solar system.

Synonyms

eager

vsathirst

447 1.0

Wanting very much to do or have something and showing strong interest

is more intense and implies extreme desire rather than simple readiness

hungry

vsathirst

164 1.8

Wanting something very much, often success or praise

is similar but does not require the usual figurative 'for' pattern

voracious

vsathirst

19 7.5

Having a very large hunger for food or learning

is similarly eager but lacks the sense of being impossible to satisfy

thirsty

vsathirst

Slang

18 3.8

Having a strong desire for success or knowledge

is broader, applying to strong wanting both literally and figuratively

appetent

vsathirst

9.9

Feeling a strong wish for something

is identical in meaning but uses more vivid imagery

Antonyms

apathetic

24 6.8

Not showing much interest or energy

satiated

1 5.5

Having eaten enough that you do not want more food

How Eager

athirst

Archaic

9.9

keen

85 2.3

eager

447 1.0

interested

∞ 1.0

curious

675 1.3

Surface Forms

athirst positive

Morphology

athirst = thirst (semi-transparent) = a + thirst

The relation to 'thirst' is clear, but the prefix 'a-' is archaic/poetic and the adjective often has a figurative sense ('eager') not immediately predictable by all learners.

Etymology

Athirst comes from the old a- meaning 'in' and thirst meaning 'a strong desire', so it literally means 'in thirst' and now describes someone who is very thirsty or very eager for something.