eagerly
Americanadverb
Etymology
Origin of eagerly
Explanation
If you do something eagerly, you do it with much excitement and enthusiasm. When it's your turn to hit the piñata at a party, you might grab the bat eagerly because you can't wait to take a swing. If you skip breakfast and lunch, you'll eat dinner eagerly, and if you collect stamps, you might eagerly examine every stamped envelope you come across, in case you can add it to your collection. Anything done with an eager attitude is done eagerly. Interestingly, eager has changed in meaning over the years — in the 13th century it meant "fierce or angry," from the Latin acrem, "pointed, piercing, or zealous."
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.
Serena Williams’ evolution back toward tennis continued Sunday with the announcement that the sport has been eagerly anticipating.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 22, 2026
GTA fans are still eagerly anticipating a new gameplay trailer for the sixth game of the franchise, after previous reveals in 2023 and 2025.
From BBC • Jun. 18, 2026
Investors are eagerly awaiting Micron’s fiscal third-quarter financial results on June 24.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 16, 2026
In the news business, there’s the world that most of us journalists aspire to live in—the one that has our audience eagerly clamoring for more of our serious accountability reporting.
From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026
Father eagerly took on the job of teaching me.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
