anxious vs eager :

anxious or eager

Most people use “anxious”interchangeably with “eager,” but its original meaning had to do with worrying, being full of anxiety. Perfectly correct phrases like, “anxious to please” obscure the nervous tension implicit in this word and lead people to say less correct things like “I’m anxious for Christmas morning to come so I can open my presents.” Traditionalists frown on anxiety-free anxiousness. Say instead you are eager for or looking forward to a happy event.

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Definitions
  anxious
  • s  eagerly desirous
    anxious to see the new show at the museum
  • s  causing or fraught with or showing anxiety
    spent an anxious night waiting for the test results
    cast anxious glances behind her
  eager
  • n  a high wave (often dangerous) caused by tidal flow (as by colliding tidal currents or in a narrow estuary)
  • a  having or showing keen interest or intense desire or impatient expectancy
    eager to learn
    eager to travel abroad
    eager for success
    eager helpers
    an eager look
News & Articles
  anxious
  • Local small business owners anxious over Affordable Health Care Act
    CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee(WDEF) - The main components of the Affordable Care Act take effect in less than a year and as the day gets closer, many local business owners tell WDEF they feel anxious about how employee health insurance will affect their business. Jennifer Hoff was one of many local small business owners who attended the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga workshop on the affordable ...
    June 18, 2013 - WDEF Chattanooga
  • Residents anxious to return to Colo. fire zone
    COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Residents are anxious to return to the scene of Colorado's most destructive wildfire but authorities say it's still not safe.
    June 16, 2013 - Associated Press via Yahoo! News
  • Residents anxious to return to Colorado fire zone
    COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — With evacuees anxious to return, firefighters worked Sunday to dig up and extinguish hot spots to protect homes spared by the most destructive wildfire in Colorado's history.
    June 16, 2013 - Associated Press via Yahoo! News
  eager
  • NHL playoffs: After 3OT Game 1, Chicago and Boston eager for rest
    NHL playoffs: After 3OT Game 1, Chicago and Boston eager for rest by Jay Cohen The Associated Press Published Jun 13, 2013 11:07PM MDT Chicago • Long after the celebration was over, Marian Hossa finally made it home and managed to fall asleep around 3 a.m. The Chicago star woke up a few hours later, roused by a noisy neighbor. “I think my neighbor decided he was going to drill in the morning ...
    June 14, 2013 - The Salt Lake Tribune
  • US participating in international Eager Lion exercise in Jordan
    Eager Lion, a 12-day annual military exercise involving 8,000 personnel from 19 countries, is underway in Jordan as the civil war rages next door in Syria. About 5,000 Americans from all services are participating.
    June 12, 2013 - Stars and Stripes
  • US participating in international Eager Lion exercise in Jordan
    Eager Lion, a 12-day annual military exercise involving 8,000 personnel from 19 countries, is underway in Jordan as the civil war rages next door in Syria. About 5,000 Americans from all services are participating.
    June 12, 2013 - Stars and Stripes