concern

[ kuhn-surn ]
See synonyms for concern on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
  1. to relate to; be connected with; be of interest or importance to; affect: The water shortage concerns us all.

  2. to interest or engage (used reflexively or in the passive, often followed by with or in): She concerns herself with every aspect of the business.

  1. to trouble, worry, or disquiet: I am concerned about his health.

noun
  1. something that relates or pertains to a person; business; affair: Law is the concern of lawyers.

  2. a matter that engages a person's attention, interest, or care, or that affects a person's welfare or happiness: The party was no concern of his.

  1. worry, solicitude, or anxiety: to show concern for someone in trouble.

  2. important relation or bearing: This news is of concern to all of us.

  3. a commercial or manufacturing company or establishment: the headquarters of an insurance concern.

  4. Informal. any material object or contrivance.

Origin of concern

1
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English concernen, from Middle French concerner, from Medieval Latin concernere “to relate to, distinguish,” from Late Latin: “to mix for sifting,” from Latin con- con- + cernere “to decide, separate, sift”

Other words for concern

Opposites for concern

Other words from concern

  • o·ver·con·cern, noun, verb (used with object)
  • pre·con·cern, noun, verb (used with object)
  • self-con·cern, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use concern in a sentence

  • A letter from Fajardo to the king (December 10, 1621) concerns various matters of administration and business.

  • The greatest contribution which modern naturalists have made to knowledge concerns the origin of organic species.

    Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
  • This, however, concerns them more than it does the American Government, which is ready to pay for value received.

    The Philippine Islands | John Foreman
  • Humanism concerns itself solely with Man, so that Man is its first and last care.

    God and my Neighbour | Robert Blatchford
  • Christianity concerns itself with the relations of Man to God, as well as with the relations between man and man.

    God and my Neighbour | Robert Blatchford

British Dictionary definitions for concern

concern

/ (kənˈsɜːn) /


verb(tr)
  1. to relate to; be of importance or interest to; affect

  2. (usually foll by with or in) to involve or interest (oneself): he concerns himself with other people's affairs

noun
  1. something that affects or is of importance to a person; affair; business

  2. regard for or interest in a person or a thing: he felt a strong concern for her

  1. anxiety, worry, or solicitude

  2. important bearing or relation: his news has great concern for us

  3. a commercial company or enterprise

  4. informal a material thing, esp one of which one has a low opinion

Origin of concern

1
C15: from Late Latin concernere to mingle together, from Latin com- together + cernere to sift, distinguish

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with concern

concern

see as far as that goes (is concerned); to whom it may concern.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.