thirst
thirst Lexical Profile
thirst Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A physiological sensation of dryness in the mouth and throat associated with a need or desire to drink liquids.
"After hiking for three hours under the desert sun, she quenched her thirst with cold spring water."
An intense, eager desire or craving for something non-physical, such as knowledge, adventure, or power.
"From an early age, the young scholar demonstrated an insatiable thirst for scientific discovery."
• verb
To have a strong, eager desire or craving for something (usually followed by 'for' or 'after').
"After years of censorship, the public thirsted for honest and independent journalism."
To feel a physical need to drink; to suffer from dryness or lack of moisture (mainly literary or archaic).
"The cattle thirsted in the parched pastures while waiting for the summer rains to return."
• Rhymes for thirst
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'þurst', derived from Proto-Germanic '*þurstuz' and ultimately tracing back to the Proto-Indo-European root '*ters-' meaning 'to dry', which also gave rise to the Latin-derived words 'torrid' and 'terrain'.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.