Definition

1. Noun:

   • A physical need or sensation prompting the desire to drink liquid: The feeling of dryness in the mouth and throat associated with a need for water or other fluids.
   • A strong desire or craving for something non-physical: An intense longing for an abstract concept, experience, or state of being.

2. Verb (intransitive):

   • To feel a need to drink: To experience the physical sensation of thirst.
   • To have a strong desire or craving for something: To yearn or long for something intensely.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Physical):

  • After the long hike, his thirst was overwhelming.
  • Water is essential to quench one's thirst.

• Noun (Figurative):

  • She has an unquenchable thirst for adventure.
  • His thirst for power was his ultimate downfall.

• Verb (Physical):

  • The explorers began to thirst after days in the desert.

• Verb (Figurative):

  • The artist thirsted for recognition.
  • Young minds thirst for knowledge.

Advanced Usage

• "To slake one's thirst": To satisfy one's thirst, often used both literally and figuratively.

  • He slaked his thirst with a cold drink.
  • She read to slake her thirst for stories.

• "A thirst for vengeance/justice": An intense, often consuming, desire for retribution or fairness.

  • The character was driven by a thirst for vengeance.

Variants and Related Words

• Thirsty (adjective):

  • Feeling or showing a need to drink.

    • I am very thirsty.
  • Having a strong desire for something.

    • He was thirsty for success.

• Thirstily (adverb): In a manner showing thirst.

  • The dog drank thirstily from its bowl.

Synonyms

• Noun (Physical): Dehydration, dryness.
• Noun (Figurative): Craving, longing, yearning, hunger, appetite, desire.
• Verb (Figurative): Crave, yearn, long, hunger, pine.

Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions

• "Thirst after/for something": To desire something strongly. This is the standard construction for the verb when used figuratively.
  • He thirsted for a chance to prove himself.
  • They thirst after truth in a world of misinformation.

Related Idioms

• "Bloodthirsty": Eager to see violence or shed blood; vicious.

  • The novel featured a bloodthirsty villain.

• "Thirst trap" (Modern, informal slang): A photograph or post on social media intended to attract attention or admiration, often by highlighting physical attractiveness.

  • She posted a thirst trap on her Instagram story.

Noun

1. strong desire for something (not food or drink)
   • a thirst for knowledge
   • hunger for affection
2. a physiological need to drink

Verb

1. have a craving, appetite, or great desire for
2. feel the need to drink