eagerness
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of eagerness
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."
Vocabulary lists containing eagerness
A Single Shard
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The Suffix -ness, Part 1
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Greed
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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.
Would you say your eagerness to share the spotlight could only have come after years of being the focal point?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
"I've seen him with this eagerness to show himself. He will have a chance during the pre-season. He came one week earlier and I hope we can see him in a good place," said Iraola.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
Another plus: Unlike during past geopolitical crises, Americans haven’t lost their eagerness to fly domestically or abroad.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
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 my eagerness to please, I accidentally complimented chipped baseboards and sacks of laundry waiting to be taken to the cleaners.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
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.
