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angst

[ ahngkst, angst ]
/ ɑŋkst, æŋst /
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noun
a feeling of dread, anxiety, or anguish.
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Origin of angst

1840–50; <German Angst fear, anxiety, Old High German angust (cognate with Middle Low German angest,Middle Dutch anxt), equivalent to ang- (akin to eng narrow, constricted) + -st abstract nominal suffix, perhaps a conglomerate of a suffix *-os- + *-ti- suffix forming abstracts

OTHER WORDS FROM angst

angsty, adjective, angstĀ·iĀ·er, angstĀ·iĀ·est.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Ā© Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use angst in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for angst

angst
/ (æŋst, German aŋst) /

noun
an acute but nonspecific sense of anxiety or remorse
(in Existentialist philosophy) the dread caused by man's awareness that his future is not determined but must be freely chosen

Word Origin for angst

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

Medical definitions for angst (1 of 2)

angst 11
[ Ƥngkst ]

n.
A feeling of anxiety or apprehension often accompanied by depression.

Medical definitions for angst (2 of 2)

angst 22

abbr.
angstrom
The American HeritageĀ® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright Ā© 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Cultural definitions for angst

angst
[ (ahngkst) ]

A kind of fear or anxiety; Angst is German for ā€œfear.ā€ It is usually applied to a deep and essentially philosophical anxiety about the world in general or personal freedom. (See existentialism.)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright Ā© 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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