anxious, eager

anxious, eager
In careful use, anxious implies anxiety, worry, or uneasiness: "The physician was anxious about the pulse rate of his patient." Eager means "keenly desirous," "wanting to": "Bob was eager to see his old friend." Eager is rarely used where anxious is meant, but anxious is often incorrectly substituted for eager: "The small boy was eager (not anxious) to go fishing." One is anxious about something of which he is fearful. He is eager concerning something looked forward to.

Dictionary of problem words and expressions. . 1975.

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  • eager — See anxious. See anxious, eager …   Dictionary of problem words and expressions

  • anxious — See anxious, eager …   Dictionary of problem words and expressions

  • eager — eager, avid, keen, anxious, agog, athirst mean actuated by a strong and urgent desire or interest. Eager implies ardor and, often, enthusiasm; it frequently also connotes impatience {it is not a life for fiery and dominant natures, eager to… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • eager — eager1 [ē′gər] adj. [ME egre < OFr aigre < L acer, sharp, acute, ardent, eager: see ACID] 1. feeling or showing keen desire; impatient or anxious to do or get; ardent 2. Archaic sharp; keen eagerly adv. eagerness n. SYN. EAGER1 implies… …   English World dictionary

  • Anxious — Anx ious ([a^][ng]k sh[u^]s), a. [L. anxius, fr. angere to cause pain, choke; akin to Gr. a gchein to choke. See {Anger}.] 1. Full of anxiety or disquietude; greatly concerned or solicitous, esp. respecting something future or unknown; being in… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • anxious — [adj1] worried, tense afraid, aghast, antsy*, apprehensive, basket case*, bugged*, butterflies, careful, choked*, clutched*, concerned, disquieted, distressed, disturbed, dreading, fearful, fidgety, fretful, hacked*, hyper*, in a state*, in a… …   New thesaurus

  • anxious — index eager, ready (willing), solicitous Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • eager — I adjective agressive, alacritous, ambitious, anxious, appetent, ardent, aspiring, assiduous, athirst, avid, avidus, bent upon, covetous, craving, desirous, diligent, disposed, earnest, enthusiastic, excited, fanatic, fanatical, fervent, fervidus …   Law dictionary

  • anxious — 1 worried, concerned, solicitous, careful (see under CARE n) Analogous words: *fearful, apprehensive, afraid: uneasy, jittery, *impatient: perturbed, agitated, upset (see DISCOMPOSE) Antonyms: composed Contrasted words: *cool, unruffled,… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • eager — [adj] anxious, enthusiastic acquisitive, agog, ambitious, antsy, appetent, ardent, athirst, avid, breathless, champing at the bit*, covetous, craving, desiring, desirous, dying to, earnest, fervent, fervid, greedy, gung ho*, hankering, heated,… …   New thesaurus

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