avidly

American  

[av-id-lee] / ˈæv ɪd li /

adverb

1. with great enthusiasm, interest, or desire; eagerly.

   As they talked, he followed their exchange avidly, his head turning back and forth between them as if he were watching a tennis match.

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Other Word Forms

• unavidly adverb

Etymology

Origin of avidly

avid ( def. ) + -ly

Explanation

When you do something avidly, you do it with enthusiasm and interest. You'll listen avidly to your grandfather's stories if he makes them vivid and enthralling. People who participate avidly in a club or group are seriously involved, and if you avidly follow college basketball, you're a huge fan and watch as many games as you can. Doing things avidly means really throwing yourself into the spirit of things. Avidly comes from its related adjective, avid, or "having enthusiasm for something," from the Latin avidus, "longing, desirous, or greedy," from the root avere, "to desire eagerly."

Example Sentences

In one scene she attends a party with John Maynard Keynes, and she interrogates the economist much more avidly than she does the giant blue angel who materializes in Geoffrey’s bedroom.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

Simon White follows news about sewage discharges avidly.

From BBC • Jan. 28, 2026

Templeman avidly avoided the public spotlight, with Branson describing her as a "down-to-earth Scottish lady" and "very private person" who almost never gave interviews.

From Barron's • Nov. 26, 2025

An American who moved to Canada and drifted into writing in the 1970s, he has written avidly and brilliantly during the last 30 years about the power and peril of technology.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2025

She stared avidly into space, as nightmare-recallers do.

From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger

Related Words

• ardently
• eagerly
• enthusiastically
• fervently
• passionately
• vigorously