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Fig.: A want and eager desire after anything; a craving or longing; -- usually with for, of, or after; as, the thirst for gold. "Thirst of worldy good." Fairfax. "The thirst I had of knowledge." Milton.

ng thirst; having a painful or distressing sensation from want of drink; hence, having an eager desire. Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink, for I am thirsty. Judges iv. 19.

thrust there in mighty concourse." Chapman. To thrust to, to rush upon. [Obs.] As doth an eager hound Thrust to an hind within some covert glade. Spenser.

or To stand, a tiptoe or on tiptoe, to be awake or alive to anything; to be roused; to be eager or alert; as, to be a tiptoe with expectation.

cent, or inflection or modulation of the voice, as adapted to express emotion or passion. Eager his tone, and ardent were his eyes. Dryden.

Very ardent; very eager or urgent; very fervent; passionate; as, a vehement affection or passion. "Vehement instigation." Shak. "Vehement desire." Milton.

Greedy in eating; very hungry; eager to devour or swallow; ravenous; gluttonous; edacious; rapacious; as, a voracious man or appetite; a voracious gulf or whirlpool. Dampier. -- Vo*ra"cious*ly, adv. -- Vo*ra"cious*ness, n.

e that yields to the feet; to move, sinking at each step, as in water, mud, sand, etc. So eagerly the fiend . . . With head, hands, wings, or feet, pursues his way, And swims, or sinks, or wades, or creeps, or flies. Milton.

To make sharp, keen, or eager; to excite; to stimulate; as, to whet the appetite or the courage. Since Cassius first did whet me against Cæsar, I have not slept. Shak. To whet on, To whet forward, to urge on or forward; to instigate. Shak.

To edge; to sharpen; to render eager or excited; esp., to excite with liquor; to inebriate. [Obs.] "In vino veritas." When men are well whittled, their tongues run at random. Withals.

To utter a whoop, or loud cry, as eagerness, enthusiasm, or enjoyment; to cry out; to shout; to halloo; to utter a war whoop; to hoot, as an owl. Each whooping with a merry shout. Wordsworth. When naught was heard but now and then the howl Of some vile cur, or whooping of the owl. W. Browne.

Desire; eager desire; longing. Behold, I am according to thy wish in God a stead. Job xxxiii. 6.

Full of thought; eagerly attentive; meditative; musing; pensive; contemplative. That he who there at such an hour hath been, Will wistful linger on that hallowed spot. Byron. -- Wist"ful*ly, adv. -- Wist"ful*ness, n.

Ready; dexterous; eager; lively; quick to move. [Obs.] "Be yare in thy preparation." Shak. The lesser [ship] will come and go, leave or take, and is yare; whereas the greater is slow. Sir W. Raleigh.

To be eager; to desire to swallow anything; to express desire by yawning; as, to yawn for fat livings. "One long, yawning gaze." Landor.

g the want of a thing; to strain with emotions of affection or tenderness; to long; to be eager. Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother; and he sought where to weep. Gen. xliii. 30. Your mother's heart yearns towards you. Addison.

To utter a sharp, quick cry, as a hound; to bark shrilly with eagerness, pain, or fear; to yaup. A little herd of England's timorous deer, Mazed with a yelping kennel of French curs Shak. At the least flourish of a broomstick or ladle, he would fly to the door with a yelping precipitation. W. Irving.…

Eager; brisk; quick; active. [Obs.] "Her song . . . loud and yern." Chaucer.

Eagerly; briskly; quickly. [Obs.] Piers Plowman. My hands and my tongue go so yerne. Chaucer.

Passionate ardor in the pursuit of anything; eagerness in favor of a person or cause; ardent and active interest; engagedness; enthusiasm; fervor. "Ambition varnished o'er with zeal." Milton. "Zeal, the blind conductor of the will." Dryden. "Zeal's never-dying fire." Keble. I bear them record that they have a zeal of G…