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.

Origin of anxious

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

Related formsanx·ious·ly, adverbanx·ious·ness, nounqua·si-anx·ious, adjectivequa·si-anx·ious·ly, adverbun·anx·ious, adjectiveun·anx·ious·ly, adverbun·anx·ious·ness, noun

Synonyms for anxious

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

Antonyms for anxious

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

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. 2018

Related Words for anxious

afraid, restless, fidgety, fearful, nervous, concerned, apprehensive, distressed, uneasy, uptight, jittery, careful, scared, impatient, keen, enthusiastic, thirsty, aghast, antsy, disturbed

Examples from the Web for anxious

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
During a midterm election with a larger share of anxious, older, whiter voters, that was enough.
One of the Midterms’ Little-Noticed Big Losers: The NRA
Cliff Schecter
November 10, 2014
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
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

Historical Examples of anxious

If it may be avoided, I will not see the whole of your youth consumed in anxious watchings.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
I have been most anxious to give your feelings their full bent.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
Their interviews were first blissful, then anxious, then sad, then stormy.
Malbone
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
"It wouldn't do, sir, for the blind to be anxious," she replied.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
"I hope she's at home," was Grace's anxious thought as she rang the bell.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus
Jessie Graham Flower

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

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.