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

She writes fondly of this period, in the last days of the 1970s — a group of avid young journalists, friends and colleagues, living off their small salaries in an affordable city.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Sarah is an avid crafts enthusiast, with an abundance of yarn, beads and other art materials in her home.

Read more on BBC

Meg Moore, an avid online shopper from the Chicago area, said she plans to change her shopping habits.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Once an avid heavy metal drummer, she was famous for carrying many sticks because she would break them during intense drumming.

Read more on BBC

Lianne, an avid reader, used to tell him he didn't read enough - so he thinks she would be proud.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

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