eagerness

American  

[ee-ger-nis] / ˈi gər nɪs /

noun

1. in an earnest, ardent, or eager way; keenness.

   The professor’s love for the topic, and her eagerness to share it with others, comes across in every word of every lecture.

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Etymology

Origin of eagerness

eager ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

Explanation

Eagerness is a characteristic of being excited and prepared to do something. Shooting your hand in the air and shouting, "Me! Me!" when your teacher asks for a volunteer is a good way to show your eagerness. A basketball team displays its eagerness by running onto the court at the start of the game, and a puppy's eagerness to lick your face and nibble your fingers is either the cutest thing about it, or one of the many reasons you don't like puppies. Eagerness and eager are both positive words, but in the thirteenth century eager meant "fierce or angry," and it shares a Latin root with the sour word acrid, or "bitter."

Example Sentences

"Eagerness, excitement, anxiousness, to give this organization and the Jones family everything they invested in," Prescott said.

From Fox News • Mar. 10, 2021

Eagerness, even more, something that was surely anxiety, shone in his eyes as he asked the question.

From The Dweller on the Threshold by Hichens, Robert Smythe

Eagerness for any activity was curtailed in a man whose self seemed to be oozing into his shadow, and he was no exception.

From An Apostate: Nawin of Thais by Sills, Steven (Steven David Justin)

Eagerness to seize the valuable forfeitures expected upon the death of every opponent, shut the door against mercy.

From A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels - Volume 05 Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time by Kerr, Robert

Eagerness, anxiety, and even fear came into it in turn, but always mingling with some scorn that dominated her.

From The Three Partners by Harte, Bret

Related Words

• ambition
• ardor
• excitement
• fervor
• hunger
• impatience
• keenness
• longing
• thirst
• yearning
• zeal