Webster's English Dictionary

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eager

ea.ger \'e--g*r\ aj [ME egre, fr. OF aigre, fr. L acer] archaic  1a: KEEN, 
   SHARP  obs  1b: SOUR  2: marked by keen, enthusiastic, or impatient desire 
   or interest plies ardor and enthusiasm and sometimes impatience at delay or 
   restraint; AVID adds to EAGER the implication of insatiability or greed; 
   KEEN suggests intensity of interest and quick responsiveness in action; 
   ANXIOUS emphasizes fear of frustration or failure or disappointment; 
   ATHIRST stresses yearning but not, as AVID does, insatiability nor does it 
   connote, as EAGER and KEEN do, readiness for action - ea.ger.ly av SYN syn 
   AVID, KEEN, ANXIOUS, ATHIRST: EAGER im