adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of worried
Explanation
The adjective worried describes someone who's uneasy or troubled about something. Imagine worried parents, up late, waiting for their teenager to arrive home from a party. Someone with a worried frown on his face always seems concerned. A worried email to your cousin who's traveling in the Middle East expresses your concern for her safety. The root of worried is the Old English word wyrgan, or strangle. It wasn't until the late 1800s that worried was used to describe feeling anxiety.
Vocabulary lists containing worried
In the Mood? 100 Words to Describe Emotions
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Hooked on a Feeling, List 2
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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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.
Worried by the recruitment of Tajiks into jihadist groups and by the Taliban's return to power in neighbouring Afghanistan, Rakhmon has sought to stamp out radical Islam.
From Barron's • Jul. 3, 2026
Worried it was a wounded animal, she ran over only to discover it was a hunk of pork the Ostrands had left out.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026
More are coming: Worried that big IPOs will torpedo the stock market?
From MarketWatch • Jun. 12, 2026
Worried the World Cup was slipping through their fingers the bid committee reorganized in a way that made it, well, more united.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2026
Worried for my safety is more like it!
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
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.
