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
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.
Her apprehensive patient hits a breaking point nevertheless, frantically fleeing the exam room while Dana is procedurally required to remain.
From Salon
Many employers are reluctant to hire workers, including people looking for part-time jobs in retirement, because they’re apprehensive about the economy.
From MarketWatch
She is currently signed off work and feels apprehensive about going back.
From BBC
The minutes, released Wednesday with a customary three-week lag, revealed that more officials were less worried about the labor market than they had been and more apprehensive about inflation.
The team is disassembling at a rate fans are apprehensive about.
From BBC
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.
