AVID Synonyms: 148 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'avid' distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of avid are anxious , athirst , eager , and keen . While all these words mean "moved by a strong and urgent desire or interest," avid adds to eager the implication of insatiability or greed. // avid for new thrills

Q: When might 'anxious' be a better fit than 'avid'?

Although the words anxious and avid have much in common, anxious emphasizes fear of frustration or failure or disappointment. // anxious not to make a social blunder

Q: Where would 'athirst' be a reasonable alternative to 'avid'?

The meanings of athirst and avid largely overlap; however, athirst stresses yearning but not necessarily readiness for action. // athirst for adventure

Q: When could 'eager' be used to replace 'avid'?

While in some cases nearly identical to avid , eager implies ardor and enthusiasm and sometimes impatience at delay or restraint. // eager to get started

Q: When is it sensible to use 'keen' instead of 'avid'?

The synonyms keen and avid are sometimes interchangeable, but keen suggests intensity of interest and quick responsiveness in action. // keen on the latest fashions

avid

adjective

ˈa-vəd

Definition of avid

as in greedy

having or marked by an eager and often selfish desire especially for material possessions stared at the array of jewels with an avid glint in his eye

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in enthusiastic

showing urgent desire or interest an avid baseball card collector

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word avid distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of avid are anxious, athirst, eager, and keen. While all these words mean "moved by a strong and urgent desire or interest," avid adds to eager the implication of insatiability or greed.

avid for new thrills

When might anxious be a better fit than avid?

Although the words anxious and avid have much in common, anxious emphasizes fear of frustration or failure or disappointment.

anxious not to make a social blunder

Where would athirst be a reasonable alternative to avid?

The meanings of athirst and avid largely overlap; however, athirst stresses yearning but not necessarily readiness for action.

athirst for adventure

When could eager be used to replace avid?

While in some cases nearly identical to avid, eager implies ardor and enthusiasm and sometimes impatience at delay or restraint.

eager to get started

When is it sensible to use keen instead of avid?

The synonyms keen and avid are sometimes interchangeable, but keen suggests intensity of interest and quick responsiveness in action.

keen on the latest fashions

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of avid Longtime sports business reporter Darren Rovell, an avid trading card and memorabilia collector since childhood, said on social media that expensive collectibles are at risk any time they are shipped. — Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026 Marshall, an avid outdoorsman, has regularly posted hunting photos to social media in the decade since voters first elected him to Congress. — Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 16 Oct. 2026 Kreiz is an avid kite surfer whose post-college job was as an instructor at a Club Med and is fond of recalling the story of delivering his baby daughter in the back of a car in front of Paddington Station in London. — Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2026 Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, has long been an avid video game player. — Preston Fore, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for avid

Recent Examples of Synonyms for avid

Adjective

The toys were not purloined, kidnapped, auctioned by Sotheby's or flipped by greedy collectors on eBay.

— STEVE HENDRIX THE WASHINGTON POST, Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2026
John Wayne and Gary Cooper, like Ken-san, often played anachronistic loners from a disappearing Arcadia that was being destroyed by hard-nosed modernizers—greedy bankers, railway owners, big-city politicians.

— Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of greedy

Adjective

But footage obtained by OutKick portrayed a different story, including a handshake with an enthusiastic Bengals head coach Zac Taylor.

— Ryan Morik , Preston Mizell OutKick, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
Wall Street has been enthusiastic about the separation, which is designed to unlock the value of each group of assets and is likely to generate M&A interest.

— Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of enthusiastic

Adjective

A couple of days before the Ann Demeulemeester show at Paris Fashion Week, eager models are standing in the foyer of the brand’s studio in the Marais, waiting patiently with their picture in hand.

— Lucy Maguire, Vogue, 21 Oct. 2026
But why are these other streamers so eager to get in the creator business?

— Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of eager

Adjective

We are excited by the prospect of evolving the Festival beyond what people have come to expect.

— Max Goldbart, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2026
Layer in Musk's visionary nature and ability to get investors excited, and you're left with an earnings conference call that should be considered required reading for any market participant.

— Zev Fima, CNBC, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of excited

Adjective

Never forget that Harkness was once a CIA operative and perhaps served a higher calling before creating his own mercenary network and taking jobs for monied sleazebags like Cantor.

— Scott Tobias, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026
Apple told CyberGuy that DarkSword originated from sophisticated mercenary spyware developed at considerable expense.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of mercenary

Adjective

Whatever the reason, Anderson left behind a catalog full of such gems, tucked away on B-sides waiting to be discovered by his most ardent fans.

— Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2026
One fascination of this brave book—brave in its disclosures but more so in its demands, its spiritual rigor, and its ardent intellectualism—lies in watching the eloquent, intelligent sufferer steadily entrapping herself.

— James Wood, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of ardent

Adjective

Played by a Colman Domingo who is done up to look the most wax figurine of them all in a shellacking of makeup, prosthetics, and colored contacts, Joe is always either giving an avaricious open-mouthed leer or a cold-eyed glare.

— Alison Willmore, Vulture, 23 Apr. 2026
There’s a quasi-heist theme to The Christophers, which revolves around an acclaimed artist (McKellen), who has long since stopped making new work, and his avaricious children (Gunning and Corden) who try to enlist Coel to complete some of their dad’s unfinished paintings.

— Matthew Carey, Deadline, 30 Mar. 2026

Definition of avaricious

Adjective

But whether in Frankfurt or, later, Weimar — where Soviet officials are as keen to canonize Thomas — this father and daughter aren’t simply driving through Germany but taking a tour across fascism’s long shadow, which still darkens the world.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
The Cloudveil For those keen to stay in town, there’s no better, more central location than The Cloudveil, situated on Jackson’s historic Town Square.

— Lindsay Cohn, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of keen

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Style

“Avid.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/avid. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of avid

adjective

Synonym Chooser

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Articles Related to avid

Must 'Avid' Mean 'Greedy'?

Cite this Entry

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