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eagerly

 - 3 dictionary results

ea⋅ger

1  [ee-ger]
–adjective
1. keen or ardent in desire or feeling; impatiently longing: I am eager for news about them. He is eager to sing.
2. characterized by or revealing great earnestness: an eager look.
3. Obsolete. keen; sharp; biting.
Use eagerly in a Sentence
Origin:
1250–1300; ME egre < AF, OF egre, aigre < VL *ācrus for L ācer sharp

Related forms:
ea⋅ger⋅ly, adverb
ea⋅ger⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. enthusiastic, desirous. See avid. 2. fervent, zealous, fervid, intent, intense, earnest.

Antonyms:
1, 2. indifferent, uninterested. 2. heedless.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To eagerly
ea·ger 1   (ē'gər)   
adj.   ea·ger·er, ea·ger·est

  1. Having or showing keen interest, intense desire, or impatient expectancy. See Usage Note at anxious.

  2. Obsolete Tart; sharp; cutting.


[Middle English eger, sour, sharp, impetuous, from Anglo-Norman egre, from Latin ācer; see ak- in Indo-European roots.]
ea'ger·ly adv., ea'ger·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

eager 
1297, from O.Fr. aigre, from V.L. *acrus, from L. acer (gen. acris) "keen, sharp" (see acrid). The Eng. word kept an alternate meaning of "pungent, sharp-edged" till 19c. (e.g. Shakespeare's "The bitter clamour of two eager tongues," in "Richard II").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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