anxiety

pronunciation

How to pronounce anxiety in British English: UK [æŋˈzaɪəti] word uk audio image

How to pronounce anxiety in American English: US [æŋˈzaɪəti] word us audio image

Noun:

a relatively permanent state of anxiety occurring in a variety of mental disorders
a vague unpleasant emotion that is experienced in anticipation of some (usually ill-defined) misfortune

Word Origin

anxiety (n.): 1520s, from Latin anxietatem (nominative anxietas) "anguish, anxiety, solicitude," noun of quality from anxius (see anxious). Psychiatric use dates to 1904. Age of Anxiety is from Auden's poem (1947). For "anxiety, distress," Old English had angsumnes, Middle English anxumnesse.

Synonym

n.

eagerness desire avidity

n.

suffering needles nervousness angst free-floating pins care torture disquietude tension trouble apprehension anxiety misgiving dread jitters worry solicitude inquietude torment disquiet ants concern uneasiness fretfulness heebie-jeebies butterflies anguish pain foreboding fear and

Antonym

n.

ease easiness insouciance

Example

1. Why does this help reduce your anxiety ?

2. There was natural anxiety about how it would go .

3. If the government borrows trillions of dollars , this will increase public anxiety and uncertainty , the conservatives worry .

4. Anxiety feels worse than it looks .

5. This question lets people cause anxiety .

more: >How to Use "anxiety" with Example Sentences