Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Sharp; sour; acid.
  • Sharp; keen; biting; severe; bitter. [Obsolete or archaic.]
  • Sharply inclined or anxious; sharp-set; excited by ardent desire; impatiently longing; vehement; keen: as, the soldiers were eager to engage the enemy; men are eager in the pursuit of wealth; eager spirits; eager zeal.
  • Manifesting sharpness of desire or strength of feeling; marked by great earnestness: as, an eager look or manner; eager words.
  • Brittle.
  • Synonyms Fervent, fervid, warm, glowing, zealous, forward, enthusiastic, impatient, sanguine, animated.
  • To make eager; urge; incite.
  • noun A sudden and formidable influx and surging of the tide in a high wave or waves, up a river or an estuary; a bore, as in the Severn, the Hooghly, and the Bay of Fundy.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Same as eagre.
  • adjective obsolete Sharp; sour; acid.
  • adjective obsolete Sharp; keen; bitter; severe.
  • adjective Excited by desire in the pursuit of any object; ardent to pursue, perform, or obtain; keenly desirous; hotly longing; earnest; zealous; impetuous; vehement.
  • adjective obsolete Brittle; inflexible; not ductile.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Alternative form of eagre. Tidal bore.
  • adjective obsolete sharp; sour; acid.
  • adjective obsolete sharp; keen; bitter; severe.
  • adjective this sense?) Excited by desire in the pursuit of any object; ardent to pursue, perform, or obtain; keenly desirous; hotly longing; earnest; zealous; impetuous; vehement.
  • adjective brittle; inflexible; not ductile.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective having or showing keen interest or intense desire or impatient expectancy
  • noun a high wave (often dangerous) caused by tidal flow (as by colliding tidal currents or in a narrow estuary)

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

See eagre

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English eger, from Old French egre, from Latin acer ("sharp, keen"); see acid, acerb, etc. Compare vinegar, alegar.

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Examples

  • Maeve had heard little past the word eager and then Lisa asking if they could leave early if they were finished.

    Freaked Out Annie Bryant 2009

  • Maeve had heard little past the word eager and then Lisa asking if they could leave early if they were finished.

    Freaked Out Annie Bryant 2009

  • Right wingers on the board again eager to turn America's children in to hamburger without so much as a thought.

    Biden: Too soon to say if more troops needed in Afghanistan 2009

  • "Under such circumstances, investors will likely remain eager to buy long-term JGBs for an extended period and the yields could extend declines," he added.

    Japanese Yields Tumble Tomoyuki Tachikawa 2010

  • Only a certain eager alertness showed the delight he took in her presence.

    CHAPTER 2 2010

  • As a one-time chimp fondler myself, I started scratching under my arms and wolfing down bananas in eager anticipation of the DWTS results show (an unprecedented display of enthusiasm!).

    'DWTS': The case of the missing chimp | EW.com 2009

  • If you are in eager to relieve yourself but fail to find a toilet in Wuhan, Hubei, you can ask a special toilet guide to show you the way, the Changjiang Commercial News reported.

    Toilet Guide Hot New Profession In China | Impact Lab 2007

  • So eager is the country to accommodate Mr. Bush that Parliament unanimously approved a bill last month allowing “American forces to engage in any kind of operation, including the use of force, in order to provide security for the president.”

    Someone Likes Him 2007

  • Plucky Anna bounces back from her ordeal the next morning, so eager is she to get a Van Gogh back to the nice lady who deserves it, but a Romanian tycoon dispatches a tiny hit woman to steal the painting away.

    Touch of Evil 2006

  • Plucky Anna bounces back from her ordeal the next morning, so eager is she to get a Van Gogh back to the nice lady who deserves it, but a Romanian tycoon dispatches a tiny hit woman to steal the painting away.

    Touch of Evil 2006

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