avid

[av-id]

adjective

1. showing great enthusiasm for or interest in.

   an avid moviegoer.

   Synonyms: fanatic, zealous, dedicated, devoted, keen, ardent, enthusiastic
   Antonyms: reluctant, apathetic, indifferent

2. extremely desirous; eager; greedy (often followed by for or sometimesof ).

   avid for pleasure; avid of power.

   Synonyms: rapacious, rapacious, covetous, insatiable, hungry
   Antonyms: loath, disdainful

avid

/ ˈævɪd /

adjective

1. very keen; enthusiastic

   an avid reader

2. (postpositive; often foll by for or of) eager (for); desirous (of); greedy (for)

   avid for revenge

Other Word Forms

• avidly adverb
• avidness noun
• unavid adjective
• unavidness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of avid¹

First recorded in 1760–70; from French avide, from Latin avidus, equivalent to av(ēre) “to crave” + -idus adjective suffix; -id ⁴

Word History and Origins

Origin of avid¹

C18: from Latin avidus, from avēre to long for

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

The most avid adopters and users of AI are among early career rank-and-file workers.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Gower has a young daughter who was an avid fan of “Stranger Things” at the time, and he said he couldn’t possibly turn down the opportunity.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

As it turns out, Gladys, avid in the occult, is keeping those kids in a trance to drain them of their energy and stay alive.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Whether an avid hunter with poor eyesight posed no danger to anyone was debatable, in Penelope’s view.

Read more on Literature

But the avid competition for these students is starting earlier and earlier, sometimes as soon as freshman year.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• ardent 
• devoted 
• eager 
• fanatical 
• fervent 
• hungry 
• impatient 
• insatiable 
• keen 
• passionate 
• ravenous 
• thirsty 
• voracious 
• zealous