adjective
athirst
uh-THURST/əˈθɜrst/
Feeling a strong thirst.
Athirst after exertion, the adult eagerly reaches for a glass of water.
Etymology
The verb behind thirst already meant both needing drink and longing for something in Old English. Athirst preserves that connection: intense eagerness is expressed as a thirst.
In context
she shows she has a dropsy and is athirst to drink the lives of all that live, as one would drink a jug of cold water.
More examples
- The poem describes a land athirst for rain.
- She was athirst for knowledge about distant countries.
- The weary riders searched for water, hungry and athirst.