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Synonym Chooser

How is the word avid distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of avid are anxious, athirst, eager, and keen. While all these words mean "moved by a strong and urgent desire or interest," avid adds to eager the implication of insatiability or greed.

avid for new thrills

When might anxious be a better fit than avid?

Although the words anxious and avid have much in common, anxious emphasizes fear of frustration or failure or disappointment.

anxious not to make a social blunder

Where would athirst be a reasonable alternative to avid?

The meanings of athirst and avid largely overlap; however, athirst stresses yearning but not necessarily readiness for action.

athirst for adventure

When could eager be used to replace avid?

While in some cases nearly identical to avid, eager implies ardor and enthusiasm and sometimes impatience at delay or restraint.

eager to get started

When is it sensible to use keen instead of avid?

The synonyms keen and avid are sometimes interchangeable, but 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 avid And Lynch was an avid painter and visual artist, who exhibited his work around the world and spent nearly a decade drawing his own comic strip, The Angriest Dog in the World. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 16 Jan. 2025 Martin Odegaard is the most avid rabble-rouser, using the small momentum swings of pressing the opposition into kicking the ball out or going close with a chance as an opportunity to lift the intensity. Jordan Campbell, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025 The crew includes Chun Wang of Malta, an entrepreneur who made a fortune in cryptocurrency and an avid adventurer. Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel, 9 Jan. 2025 In 2020, Giannulli, an avid golfer who is married to actress Lori Loughlin, was sentenced to five months in prison for paying a half-million in bribes for the couples’ daughters to gain admission into the University of Southern California. Jean E. Palmieri, WWD, 6 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for avid 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for avid
Adjective
  • Similarly, travel agency Fora is fielding requests from travelers eager to stay at the hotel.
    Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 29 Jan. 2025
  • At least, that's the advice Pasqual Gutierrez, a successful director who's worked with everyone from the Weeknd to Madonna, imparts to an eager newbie in his directorial debut, Serious People.
    Mike Miller, EW.com, 29 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Antonio Banderas was excited to watch his costar in Bosch's new Super Bowl commercial pull off some impressive wrestling moves on set.
    Tommy McArdle, People.com, 27 Jan. 2025
  • If the big names in the Big Easy aren’t reason enough to get excited for Super Bowl LIX, there is no shortage of storylines that make this year’s championship bout between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles especially compelling.
    Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 27 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • In his testimony earlier this month, former House Speaker Michael Madigan cast himself as a champion of the working class, a consensus-builder who used his power to bring people together on legislation and protect constituents from greedy utilities and corporations.
    Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 24 Jan. 2025
  • His heroes are often murderous vigilantes doling out death sentences to greedy politicians, officials and businessmen.
    Anupama Chopra, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Right-leaning publications, meanwhile, suggested that the enthusiastic attention paid to Sweeney’s breasts had everything to do with the shifting political climate.
    Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 25 Jan. 2025
  • For the past five seasons, the 2018 first-round draft pick has breathed new life into this franchise and its enthusiastic, table-crushing fanbase.
    Becky Sullivan, NPR, 25 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • The conference — which draws child abuse pediatricians, social workers, police and prosecutors — featured multiple presentations that cast doctors who testify for the defense as both ill-informed and mercenary.
    Pamela Colloff, ProPublica, 29 Dec. 2024
  • The conference — which draws child-abuse pediatricians, social workers, police officers and prosecutors — featured multiple presentations that cast doctors who testify for the defense as both ill informed and mercenary.
    Kirsten Potter Krish Seenivasan David Mason, New York Times, 29 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • The £150 price tag has raised eyebrows even among ardent Lush fans on forums such as the 115k-member r/LushCosmetics subreddit.
    Victoria Turk, WIRED, 26 Jan. 2025
  • His administration appointees are also ardent supporters of Israel who have openly questioned Palestinians’ right to sovereignty.
    Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Pearce plays Van Buren as hungry and avaricious even in his kinder moments, a man of immense wealth whose primary desire is to own more and more.
    David Sims, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2025
  • Ever since the United States liberated Kuwait from the avaricious clutches of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War of 1990-91, the Kuwaitis have supported U.S. priorities in the Middle East and elsewhere.
    Martin Indyk, Foreign Affairs, 14 Feb. 2022
Adjective
  • Industry players like the H&M Foundation have shown a keen interest in partnering with such companies.
    Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 23 Jan. 2025
  • City were keen to keep key players fresh for their midweek loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
    Holly Shand, The Athletic, 22 Jan. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near avid

Cite this Entry

“Avid.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/avid. Accessed 5 Feb. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on avid

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