anxiously

[angk-shuhs-lee, ang-]

adverb

1. in an uneasy or worried manner.

   My first call was to my wife, who had been anxiously awaiting word of my whereabouts.

2. in an earnestly desirous or eager manner.

   They are anxiously awaiting the birth of their first child.

Other Word Forms

• quasi-anxiously adverb
• unanxiously adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of anxiously¹

anxious ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

His five children are missing their dad, she says, and the family are still waiting anxiously for answers, not knowing if he was even on the boat hit in the strike.

Read more on BBC

As the family anxiously waits for the court's verdict, they are holding out hope.

Read more on BBC

Her feet anxiously traced little dance steps on the carpet, as if they could not help themselves.

Read more on Literature

She stomped along the path to the school with tiny, angry steps and anxiously twirled her parasol.

Read more on Literature

She remained anxiously alert for the rest of the trip, holding tight to her Hixby’s Guide and ready, frankly, to pounce.

Read more on Literature

Related Words

• attentively 
• conscientiously www.thesaurus.com
• correctly www.thesaurus.com
• deliberately 
• delicately 
• discreetly 
• faithfully 
• fully 
• gingerly 
• laboriously 
• meticulously 
• precisely 
• prudently 
• rigorously 
• scrupulously 
• thoroughly 
• thoughtfully www.thesaurus.com
• warily