avid
Americanadjective
-
showing great enthusiasm for or interest in.
an avid moviegoer.
- Antonyms:
- reluctant, apathetic, indifferent
-
extremely desirous; eager; greedy (often followed by for or sometimesof ).
avid for pleasure; avid of power.
- Synonyms:
- rapacious, covetous, insatiable, hungry
- Antonyms:
- loath, disdainful
adjective
-
very keen; enthusiastic
an avid reader
-
(postpositive; often foll by for or of) eager (for); desirous (of); greedy (for)
avid for revenge
Related Words
Avid, eager, keen all share the sense of strongly desirous. Avid suggests a desire akin to greed, so strong as to be insatiable: driven by an avid need for fame and recognition. Eager implies a desire that is strong and impatient but less than overpowering: eager to try his hand at new tasks. Keen carries a sense of zest and active, alert desire: an amateur painter, ever keen to try new techniques.
Pop Culture
—Avid: A non-linear video editing system developed by Avid Technology, Inc. Best known in the film and video production industry are the Media Composer and Pro Tools video and sound editing software. The Avid editing system was used to edit films such as Iron Man 2, 2012, and Hurt Locker, among many others. Pro Tools was used for the sound edit and mix of Avatar. —AVID: acronym for Advancement Via Individual Determination. A teaching system designed to help underachieving students with high academic potential prepare for entrance to colleges and universities. The system was developed in 1980 by Mary Catherine Swanson, an English teacher from San Diego. —AVID: acronym for American Veterinary Identification Devices. These are microchips that are permanently implanted in a pet to be used for the animal's identification.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of avid
First recorded in 1760–70; from French avide, from Latin avidus, equivalent to av(ēre) “to crave” + -idus adjective suffix; see -id 4
Explanation
Avid usually means very eager or enthusiastic. If you're an avid reader, it means you read as much as you can, whenever you can. But this adjective can also mean wanting something so much that you can be thought of as greedy. For example, a person can be avid for success or power. Avid is from French avide, from Latin avidus, from avere "to desire, crave."
Vocabulary lists containing avid
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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Grade 9, List 4
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The Distance Between Us
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Avid, founded in 1987, is based in Burlington, Mass., and has since established itself as a pioneer in digital audio and video editing software.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026
Avid futurists have promised the world AI assistants for years.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026
The deal they’d signed with Simon & Schuster’s Avid Reader Press in 2018 was valued at roughly $1 million, according to people familiar with the deal.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025
Avid football fans Fábio and Rafaela travelled from the nearby town Lordelo to honour Jota and Silva.
From BBC • Jul. 5, 2025
Avid inventors tend to swamp physics departments and science magazines with blueprints for incredible machines—machines that eternally generate power without any source of energy.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
