angst

[ ahngkst, angst ]

/ ɑŋkst, æŋst /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR angst ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a feeling of dread, anxiety, or anguish.

Nearby words

angra do heroísmo, angra mainyu, angrboda, angry, angry young man, angst, angstrom, angsty, anguier, anguilla, anguilliform

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

Related forms

angst·y, adjective, angst·i·er, angst·i·est.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for angst

Heightening his angst, Warren pines for precocious Jessica (Gevinson).
Michael Cera Brings ‘This Is Our Youth’ to Broadway After 18 Years|Tom Teodorczuk|September 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Even before that ode to Jewish angst and masturbation hit the bookstores in 1969, Roth was a Yaddo veteran.
The Climax of ‘Portnoy’s Complaint’|Robert Hofler|May 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And I admit I look back on my teenage self and think a lot of my angst sounds like an Onion article.
An Ode to Angry Asians: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Suey Park|Arthur Chu|April 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She felt claustrophobic, entrapped like an exotic bird, but despite her angst she lacked the courage to leave.
Rita Moreno, SAG Life Achievement Award Winner, Talks Brando, Elvis And West Side Story|Sandra McElwaine|January 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST

And there must also be angst in Washington, which has, since 2003, relied on the Chinese to rein in their troublesome ally for us.
North Korean Blood Feud is ‘Richard III’ with Nukes|Gordon G. Chang|December 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST

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 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Culture definitions for angst

angst

[ (ahngkst) ]

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