concerned
Americanadjective
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interested or affected.
concerned citizens.
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troubled or anxious.
a concerned look.
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having a connection or involvement; participating.
They arrested all those concerned in the kidnapping.
adjective
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(postpositive) interested, guilty, involved, or appropriate
I shall find the boy concerned and punish him
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worried, troubled, or solicitous
Other Word Forms
- concernedly adverb
- concernedness noun
- underconcerned adjective
Etymology
Origin of concerned
Explanation
If you're concerned, you're feeling worried. When your clumsy friend announces his plans to become a stunt double, you should be concerned for his safety, and if you're not, you're a lousy friend. The adjective concerned has roots in Latin terms for seeing clearly, as well as for being in relation to something. If you feel concerned, say for your neighbor who just bet his savings on a horse race, that's because you truly care for his well-being and you see that he's doing something stupid. Sometimes we use concerned to show the limits of our investment. As far as you are concerned, Madame X can jump off a cliff! You don't care!
Vocabulary lists containing concerned
Workshop 2, Part 1
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Words to Capture Tone, List 11
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List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Investors hoped the company would appeal to environmentally-conscious and vegetarian-curious consumers — or with anyone concerned about the meat industry and animal welfare — and take off in a fashion similar to plant-based milk.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 12, 2026
I am concerned that the intensity of this interaction is causing you real and significant pain.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026
She’s not as concerned with settling differences as with understanding the thoughts and emotions animating the clashes of her divergent characters.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026
"It's the right guy, and it's nothing that anybody has to be concerned with moving forward."
From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026
I had been concerned about combining six children with a lake, but I feel better when I see the setup.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
