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Synonyms

thirsty

American  
[thur-stee] / ˈθɜr sti /

adjective

thirstier, thirstiest

  1. feeling or having thirst; craving liquid.

  2. needing moisture, as land; parched; dry or arid.

    the thirsty soil.

  3. eagerly desirous; eager.

    thirsty for news.

  4. causing thirst.

    Digging is thirsty work.

  5. Slang.

    1. eager for attention or approval.

      thirsty celebrities.

    2. desperate for affection, sex, or sexual attention.

thirsty British  
/ ˈθɜːstɪ /

adjective

  1. feeling a desire to drink

  2. dry; arid

    the thirsty soil

  3. (foll by for) feeling an eager desire

    thirsty for information

  4. causing thirst

    thirsty work
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • nonthirsty adjective
  • thirstily adverb
  • thirstiness noun
  • unthirsty adjective

Etymology

Origin of thirsty

First recorded before 950; Middle English thirsti, Old English thyrstig; akin to Dutch dorstig, German durstig, Sanskrit tṛṣita “thirsty,” from the Proto-Indo-European root ters-, tṛs- “dry,” from which Latin terra (from unattested tersa ) “(dry) land” derives

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.

“I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”

From Salon • Apr. 6, 2026

"You can see the soldiers standing behind us for the past seven, eight days. They are hungry and thirsty but defending the country strongly," the 70-year-old added.

From Barron's • Mar. 5, 2026

Or maybe this just shows how thirsty we are for a chance to turn away from current events for a moment.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 3, 2026

When Slovakia was part of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, the cars it made were, by Western standards, shoddy, noisy, thirsty and slow.

From BBC • Jan. 21, 2026

He had planned to save his parents’ juice until he was desperate, but Abby was thirsty and she would be certain to have a tantrum if she didn’t get something to drink.

From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret

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.