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

He spread his wings, lifted up on the breeze, and anxiously looked at the choppy surf ahead.

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She is anxiously waiting for the communications networks to be restored so she can talk to her sister.

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"It is unacceptable that a fake recovery was staged, when so much depends on this agreement being upheld and when so many families are still anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones."

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All of America should anxiously await the decision of the universities yet to respond to the compact.

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As well as British holidaymakers, the BBC has spoken to Britons anxiously watching from afar as their loved ones prepare for impact.

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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