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anxious

American  
[angk-shuhs, ang-] / ˈæŋk ʃəs, ˈæŋ- /

adjective

  1. full of mental distress or uneasiness because of fear of danger or misfortune; greatly worried; apprehensive.

    Her parents were anxious about her poor health.
    Synonyms:
    enthusiastic, solicitous, uneasy, fearful, disturbed, concerned
    Antonyms:
    confident, calm

  2. earnestly desirous; eager (usually followed by an infinitive orfor ): anxious for our happiness.

    anxious to please;

    anxious for our happiness.
    Antonyms:
    hesitant, reluctant

  3. attended with or showing solicitude or uneasiness.

    anxious forebodings.
anxious British  
/ ˈæŋkʃəs, ˈæŋʃəs /

adjective

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

  2. fraught with or causing anxiety; worrying; distressing

    an anxious time

  3. intensely desirous; eager

    anxious for promotion
"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

Other Word Forms

  • anxiously adverb
  • anxiousness noun
  • quasi-anxious adjective
  • unanxious adjective

Etymology

Origin of anxious

First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin anxius “worried, distressed,” derivative of angere “to strangle, pain, distress”; anguish, -ous

Compare meaning

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.