eager
- 01 B1 Intermediate
wanting to do or have something very much.
strongly wanting to do or have something; characterized by keen interest or impatient desire.
Simple“The students were eager to start their summer holidays after the final exam.”
In context“The young interns were eager to impress their supervisors, often staying late to ensure every detail of the report was perfect.”
UsageCommonly followed by an infinitive ('eager to help') or the preposition 'for' ('eager for news').
PitfallHe is eager of starting the project. He is eager to start the project.Use 'eager to' followed by a verb, or 'eager for' followed by a noun.
SynonymsAntonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
in computer science, doing a task immediately instead of waiting until it is needed.
describing an evaluation strategy that performs a calculation as soon as an expression is bound to a variable.
Simple“The program uses eager evaluation to process the data as soon as it arrives.”
In context“By employing eager loading, the application fetches all related records in a single query to minimize subsequent database hits.”
UsageUsually used as a technical contrast to 'lazy evaluation'.
- 03 C2 Proficiency
having a sharp, sour, or bitter taste or feeling.
possessing a sharp, acid, or pungent quality; can also refer to biting cold or severe temperament.
Simple“The eager air of the winter morning made his skin sting.”
In context“Hamlet described the midnight air as a nipping and an eager air, emphasizing the biting cold of the Danish night.”
Teacher's tipThis sense is rarely found in modern speech but appears in Shakespeare and other classic literature.
Usage eager to learn
“Ocasio-Cortez, a 36-year-old with a progressive agenda and can’t-be-taught social media smarts, could meet the moment for a nation eager for a fresh start after a decade of Trumpism.”
“One assumes he will be met at East Midlands airport by thousands of excited supporters eager to welcome their new hero.”
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- Proto-Indo-European *-rós Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱrós Proto-Italic *akris Classical Latin ācer Late Latin ācrus Old French aigrebor. Middle English egre English eager Inherited from Middle English egre, eger, from Old French aigre, egre (modern French aigre), from Latin ācrus, variant of ācer (“sharp, keen”); see acid, acerb, etc. Compare vinegar, alegar.
See eagre.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.