anxious
[ angk-shuhs, ang- ]
/ ˈæŋk ʃəs, ˈæŋ- /
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.
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Nearby words
Origin of anxious
SYNONYMS FOR anxious
ANTONYMS FOR anxious
Related forms
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
British Dictionary definitions for anxious
anxious
/ (ˈæŋkʃəs, ˈæŋʃəs) /
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
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Word Origin and History for anxious
anxious
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper