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Jackson6612 Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
He was very eager/anxious to meet me.
Hi
He was very eager/anxious to meet me.
Which word of the two, "eager/anxious", is a better choice? According to the dictionary definition, at least to me, they both look fine and can substitute each other in this sentence
anxious (adj)
1 : characterized by extreme uneasiness of mind or brooding fear about some contingency : WORRIED anxious parents
2 : characterized by, resulting from, or causing anxiety : WORRYING an anxious night
3 : ardently or earnestly wishing anxious to learn more
synonyms see EAGER
[M-W's Col. Dic.]
He was very eager/anxious to meet me.
Which word of the two, "eager/anxious", is a better choice? According to the dictionary definition, at least to me, they both look fine and can substitute each other in this sentence
anxious (adj)
1 : characterized by extreme uneasiness of mind or brooding fear about some contingency : WORRIED anxious parents
2 : characterized by, resulting from, or causing anxiety : WORRYING an anxious night
3 : ardently or earnestly wishing anxious to learn more
synonyms see EAGER
[M-W's Col. Dic.]
Top answer
The American Heritage Dictionary at Yahoo Education has usage notes for problem words like "anxious". They were written and voted upon years ago, but they are still valuable. com/reference/dictionary/entry/anxious I avoid using "anxious" to mean "eager," and I think it is still non-standard American English and of a low register.
- The American Heritage Dictionary at Yahoo Education has usage notes for problem words like "anxious".
- They were written and voted upon years ago, but they are still valuable.
- com/reference/dictionary/entry/anxious I avoid using "anxious" to mean "eager," and I think it is still non-standard American English and of a low register.
- People say it all the time, so much that "eager" sounds stilted in casual speech, but you should avoid it in formal writing.
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3 Answers
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The American Heritage Dictionary at Yahoo Education has usage notes for problem words like "anxious". They were written and voted upon years ago, but they are still valuable. Read the one for anxious here: http://education.ya
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Anonymous"anxious" to mean "eager," ... People say it all the time, so much that "eager" sounds stilted in casual speech,Agree.
Jackson, I too would say that both are used, but "eager" is the higher-register word.
CJ
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