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

Even unrelated, low-skill jobs on a resume can be valuable for entry-level candidates, reflecting an eagerness to work hard and succeed, Shafransky told MarketWatch.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 18, 2026

In the indictment, prosecutors portrayed Bolton as driven by his eagerness to memorialize his day-to-day life in Trump’s first term.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026

But you can still discern the same rush, the same eagerness to assume that everything is going to turn out great without taking many steps to make sure that it does.

From Slate • Jun. 4, 2026

He suggested the Portugal international was prioritising individual assists glory over the team's interests in his eagerness to set the single-season record.

From BBC • May 25, 2026

Malcolm could feel his dæmon’s eagerness to plunge into the water and catch the fish, and silently urged her on; but she held back.

From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman

Related Words

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