apprehensive
Americanadjective
-
uneasy or fearful about something that might happen.
apprehensive for the safety of the mountain climbers.
-
quick to learn or understand.
-
perceptive; discerning (usually followed byof ).
adjective
Other Word Forms
- apprehensively adverb
- apprehensiveness noun
- nonapprehensive adjective
- overapprehensive adjective
- overapprehensively adverb
- overapprehensiveness noun
- pseudoapprehensive adjective
- pseudoapprehensively adverb
- unapprehensive adjective
- unapprehensively adverb
- unapprehensiveness noun
Etymology
Origin of apprehensive
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Medieval Latin word apprehēnsīvus. See apprehensible, -ive
Explanation
If you're apprehensive, you're anxious or fearful. If you live near a busy intersection with no stop signs, you might be a bit apprehensive about crossing the street. Apprehensive is from a Latin word meaning "to seize," and it originally meant "quick to seize impressions or ideas, perceptive, intelligent." Now it means "anticipating something bad, fearful of what may happen." Synonyms are afraid, which suggest a more immediate fear, and fearful, which suggests a more general temperament ("a fearful child"). You can be apprehensive about a situation while being an optimistic and courageous person in general.
Vocabulary lists containing apprehensive
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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The Giver
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 1
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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.
His father is out of work because of the war; his mother constantly apprehensive.
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026
Americans appear profoundly apprehensive about the potential impact of AI on society, with concerns ranging from widespread job losses to broad cybersecurity threats.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
As they are today, customers were apprehensive about new ownership, but Thayer spanned the gap and put them at ease.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026
I wish I could say that when I received my first A.I.-humanization request, I felt more apprehensive about taking the job.
From Slate • Mar. 20, 2026
The apprehensive mood was shot through with shafts of gaiety, as a black sky is streaked with lightning.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
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.
