anxious

[angk-shuhs, ang-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR anxious ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

full of mental distress or uneasiness because of fear of danger or misfortune; greatly worried; solicitous: Her parents were anxious about her poor health.

earnestly desirous; eager (usually followed by an infinitive or for): anxious to please; anxious for our happiness.

attended with or showing solicitude or uneasiness: anxious forebodings.

Nearby words

Origin of anxious

1615–25; < Latin anxius worried, distressed, derivative of angere to strangle, pain, distress; cf. anguish, -ous

SYNONYMS FOR anxious

1. concerned, disturbed, apprehensive, fearful, uneasy.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR anxious ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR anxious

1. calm, confident. 2. reluctant, hesitant.

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Related forms

anx·ious·ly, adverbanx·ious·ness, nounqua·si-anx·ious, adjectivequa·si-anx·ious·ly, adverb

un·anx·ious, adjectiveun·anx·ious·ly, adverbun·anx·ious·ness, noun

Usage note

The earliest sense of anxious (in the 17th century) was “troubled” or “worried”: We are still anxious for the safety of our dear sons in battle. Its meaning “earnestly desirous, eager” arose in the mid-18th century: We are anxious to see our new grandson. Some insist that anxious must always convey a sense of distress or worry and object to its use in the sense of “eager,” but such use is fully standard.

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

Examples from the Web for anxious

He said Jay was anxious and wondering why it was taking so long for the police to arrive.
Adnan Killed Her! No, Jay Did It! Serial’s Uncertain, True-to-Reality End|Emily Shire|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A Simba commander yelled the order and anxious rebels began ricocheting bullets into the fleeing group.
‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis|Nina Strochlic|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The unemployed have a right to be anxious about the ravages on their families exacted by their unemployment.
Ebola, ISIS, the Border: So Much to Fear, So Little Time!|Gene Robinson|November 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On the one hand, she was anxious about her colleagues knowing about her kink.
Coming Out Kinky to Your Doctor, in Black and Blue|Heather Boerner|October 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Democrats have been anxious not to nationalize the election as a referendum on President Obama.
What the GOP Will Do If It Wins Congress|Stuart Stevens|October 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Bill was anxious to get back to poor Jack, who he remembered was well-nigh starving.
From Powder Monkey to Admiral|W.H.G. Kingston
Tildy was dumpy, plain-faced, and too anxious to please to please.
The Four Million|O. Henry
The next morning a great crowd of natives had gathered, and were anxious to get into the boat.
King Philip|John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot) Abbott
May I ask you to present them with my best—best and most anxious regards?
Alice, or The Mysteries, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton
I daresay the Count has told you that he would not work any more for us, and you are anxious to arrange the matter?
A Cigarette-Maker's Romance|F. Marion Crawford

British Dictionary definitions for anxious

anxious

adjective

worried and tense because of possible misfortune, danger, etc; uneasy

fraught with or causing anxiety; worrying; distressingan anxious time

intensely desirous; eageranxious for promotion

Derived Formsanxiously, adverbanxiousness, noun

Word Origin for anxious

C17: from Latin anxius; related to Latin angere to torment; see anger, anguish

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

Word Origin and History for anxious

anxious

adj.

1620s, from Latin anxius "solicitous, uneasy, troubled in mind" (also "causing anxiety, troublesome"), from angere, anguere "choke, squeeze," figuratively "torment, cause distress" (see anger (v.)). The same image is in Serbo-Croatian tjeskoba "anxiety," literally "tightness, narrowness." Related: Anxiously; anxiousness.

anxious

adjective

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Origin of anxious

Usage note

Examples from the Web for anxious

anxious

adjective

Word Origin for anxious

anxious