Meaning & use
eager
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Showing strong interest and desire to do, get, or experience something.
Grammar: Commonly predicative after be or attributive before a noun; often followed by to or for.
Patterns
- eager to do something
- eager for something
- eager that something should happen
The students were eager to begin the experiment.
She is eager for feedback on her draft.
An eager crowd waited outside the bookstore.
adjectivecomparabledisapproving
Showing impatient enthusiasm that may feel too intense for the situation.
Grammar: Same grammar as the main sense, but the tone can be critical.
Patterns
- overeager to do something
- too eager to please
He was too eager to please and agreed to everything.
An overeager assistant kept interrupting the meeting.
Do not sound overeager in the first interview answer.
Word forms
| comparative | more eager |
|---|---|
| superlative | most eager |
Common combinations
- eager to learn
- The new hires are eager to learn the system.
- eager for change
- Many residents are eager for change after the long delay.
- eager audience
- The lecture drew an eager audience of first-year students.
- eagerly awaited
- The sequel was eagerly awaited by fans.
Synonyms and how they differ
- keen
- Keen is very close and common in British English; eager sounds slightly stronger and more emotional.
- enthusiastic
- Enthusiastic suggests lively positive energy, while eager stresses wanting something to happen soon.
- anxious
- Anxious can mean eager in American English but often also suggests worry; eager is cleaner for simple desire.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: eager or anxious? eager or earnest?
eager vs anxious
Anxious often means worried; when it means eager, it can still carry nervous tension.
eager vs earnest
Earnest means serious and sincere, not necessarily excited to do something.
Practice
Complete the sentence: The volunteers were eager ___ the new schedule.
Choose one answer.
Eager is followed by to plus the base verb: eager to help. Help with is grammatical only after the verb, and for helping is not the standard pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “eager”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.