anxiously
Americanadverb
-
in an uneasy or worried manner.
My first call was to my wife, who had been anxiously awaiting word of my whereabouts.
-
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
Etymology
Origin of anxiously
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Farmers have been anxiously waiting for the release of new quotas, saying they could provide a much-needed increase in demand for crops such as soybeans.
Embassy in Bujumbura, Burundi, she watched anxiously as applicant after applicant left dejected.
Seafarers stuck in the Gulf say they are rationing food and water and anxiously hoping supplies will get through Iran's blockade in the war that has stranded them for three weeks.
From Barron's
I looked anxiously around the foyer for Rolf and the others we knew, but saw no one.
From Literature
Larysa Gladka was among hundreds of Ukrainians lining the road stretching towards the northern border, holding flags as they anxiously fixed their gaze at the horizon.
From Barron's
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.
