Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense thirsts, present participle thirsting, past tense, past participle thirsted
1. variable noun
Thirst is the feeling that you need to drink something.
Coca is well-known for reducing hunger, thirst and fatigue.
Instead of tea or coffee, drink water to quench your thirst.
I had such a thirst.
Synonyms: dryness, thirstiness, drought, craving to drink More Synonyms of thirst
2. uncountable noun
Thirst is the condition of not having enough to drink.
They died of thirst on the voyage.
3. singular noun
A thirstfor something is a very strong desire for that thing.
Children show a real thirst for learning. [+ for]
...their ever-growing thirst for cash.
Synonyms: craving, hunger, appetite, longing More Synonyms of thirst
4. verb
If you say that someone thirstsfor something, you mean that they have a strong desire for it.
[literary]
We all thirst for the same things. [V + for/after]
thirst in British English
(θɜːst)
noun
1.
a craving to drink, accompanied by a feeling of dryness in the mouth and throat
2.
an eager longing, craving, or yearning
a thirst for knowledge
verb
3. (intransitive)
to feel a thirst
to thirst for a drink
to thirst after righteousness
Word origin
Old English thyrstan, from thurst thirst; related to Old Norse thyrsta to thirst, Old High German dursten to thirst, Latin torrēre to parch
thirst in American English
(θɜrst)
noun
1.
the uncomfortable or distressful feeling caused by a desire or need for water and characterized generally by a sensation of dryness in the mouth and throat
2. Informal
a craving for a specific liquid, esp. for alcoholic liquor
3.
any strong desire; craving
a thirst for fame
verb intransitive
4.
to be thirsty
5.
to have a strong desire or craving
Word origin
ME < OE thurst, akin to Ger durst < IE base *ters-, to dry > L torrere, to parch, torridus, torrid, terra, earth
Examples of 'thirst' in a sentence
thirst
It gave me a real thirst for exploring.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
America is finally showing signs of coming to grips with its thirst for oil.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
What keeps both going is the universal thirst for knowledge.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
You will suffer neither hunger nor thirst!
Hans Christian Andersen Andersen's Fairy Tales (1874)
They want to capitalise on the thirst for football shows as much as possible.
The Sun (2009)
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled.
Munro, Bill Dr. & Munro, Frances Beat Stress (1992)
This thirst for knowledge and a better life is also a threat.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice.
Davey, Ray Rev. & Cole, John A Channel of Peace (1993)
It is clear that a thirst for knowledge and rigour is alive and well in many schools.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Both had no real thirst for the limelight and no way of dealing with it when it came.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
India's thirst for oil is increasing rapidly as its economy expands.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
America's thirst for oil is legendary.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
It had quite a profound effect on me, giving me a real thirst for beauty and culture.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
But I have an insatiable thirst for knowledge.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
And I had this insatiable thirst for change.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
A growing thirst for oil from the emerging economies of Asia is one critical factor.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Think of it as a play on European consumers' thirst and spending power.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
He said: 'I have a real thirst and appetite for change.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
He also has immense personal charm, a showman's love of performing and an insatiable thirst to learn new music.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Of longer droughts and bigger floods, and growing hunger and thirst, and things in various ways not being quite like theywere.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
In other languages
thirst
British English: thirst /θɜːst/ NOUN
Thirst is the feeling that you need to drink something.
Drink water to quench your thirst.
American English: thirst
Arabic: ظَمَأ
Brazilian Portuguese: sede
Chinese: 渴
Croatian: žeđ
Czech: žízeň
Danish: tørst
Dutch: dorst
European Spanish: sed
Finnish: jano
French: soif
German: Durst
Greek: δίψα
Italian: sete
Japanese: のどの渇き
Korean: 갈증
Norwegian: tørste
Polish: pragnienie
European Portuguese: sede
Romanian: sete
Russian: жажда
Latin American Spanish: sed
Swedish: törst
Thai: ความกระหายน้ำ
Turkish: susuzluk
Ukrainian: спрага
Vietnamese: cơn khát
Chinese translation of 'thirst'
thirst
(θəːst)
n
(c/u) (= feeling) 口渴 (kǒukě) (阵(陣), zhèn)
(u) (= condition) 干(乾)渴 (gānkě)
a thirst for ... [success, learning etc]对(對) ... 的渴望 (duì ... de kěwàng)
1 (noun)
Definition
a desire to drink, accompanied by a feeling of dryness in the mouth and throat
Instead of tea or coffee, drink water to quench your thirst.
Synonyms
dryness
Symptoms include dryness of the mouth.
thirstiness
drought
The drought has affected two million people.
craving to drink
2 (noun)
Definition
a craving or yearning
their ever-growing thirst for cash
Synonyms
craving
I had a sudden craving for a cheese sandwich.
hunger
He has a hunger for success that seems bottomless.
appetite
our growing appetite for scandal
longing
He felt a longing for the familiar.
desire
I had a strong desire to help and care for people.
passion
Romeo's passion for Juliet
yen (informal)
Mike had a yen to try cycling.
ache
an overwhelming ache for support from others
lust
It was his lust for glitz and glamour that was driving them apart.
yearning
He spoke of his yearning for another child.
eagerness
the voice of a woman speaking with breathless eagerness
hankering
Have you always had a hankering to be an actress?
keenness
Opposites
dislike
,
loathing
,
distaste
,
aversion
,
revulsion
,
apathy
,
disinclination
phrasal verb
See thirst for something
Additional synonyms
in the sense of ache
an overwhelming ache for support from others
Synonyms
longing,
need,
hope,
wish,
desire,
urge,
yen (informal),
pining,
hunger,
craving,
yearning,
itch,
thirst,
hankering
in the sense of appetite
Definition
a liking or willingness
our growing appetite for scandal
Synonyms
desire,
liking,
longing,
demand,
taste,
passion,
stomach,
hunger,
willingness,
relish,
craving,
yearning,
inclination,
zeal,
zest,
propensity,
hankering,
proclivity,
appetence,
appetency
in the sense of desire
Definition
a wish or longing
I had a strong desire to help and care for people.
Synonyms
wish,
want,
longing,
need,
hope,
urge,
yen (informal),
hunger,
appetite,
aspiration,
ache,
craving,
yearning,
inclination,
thirst,
hankering
Synonyms of 'thirst'
thirst
Explore 'thirst' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of drought
Definition
a prolonged period of time during which no rain falls
The drought has affected two million people.
Synonyms
water shortage,
dryness,
dry weather,
dry spell,
aridity,
lack of rain,
drouth (Scottish),
parchedness
in the sense of eagerness
the voice of a woman speaking with breathless eagerness
Synonyms
passion,
interest,
enthusiasm,
intensity,
fervour,
ardour,
earnestness,
keenness,
heartiness,
thirst,
intentness
in the sense of hankering
Have you always had a hankering to be an actress?
Synonyms
desire,
longing,
wish,
hope,
urge,
yen (informal),
pining,
hunger,
ache,
craving,
yearning,
itch,
thirst
in the sense of hunger
Definition
desire or craving
He has a hunger for success that seems bottomless.
Synonyms
desire,
appetite,
craving,
yen (informal),
ache,
lust,
yearning,
itch,
thirst,
greediness,
appetence
in the sense of longing
Definition
a strong feeling of wanting something one is unlikely ever to have
He felt a longing for the familiar.
Synonyms
desire,
hope,
wish,
burning,
urge,
ambition,
hunger,
yen (informal),
hungering,
aspiration,
ache,
craving,
yearning,
coveting,
itch,
thirst,
hankering
in the sense of lust
Definition
a strong desire or drive
It was his lust for glitz and glamour that was driving them apart.