Dictionary.com
definitions

apprehensive

[ ap-ri-hen-siv ]
/ ˌæp rɪˈhɛn sɪv /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR apprehensive ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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 by of).

RELATED CONTENT

Sever And Other Trending Words On Dictionary.com1. What caused the biggest jump in searches on dictionary.com this week? The word rehabilitation had a whole lot of people scratching their heads. The term took a 607% leap in searches over the prior week. The spike followed news out of Connecticut that a former University of Hartford student named Brianna Brochu had been sentenced by a judge to “accelerated rehabilitation.” In Brochu’s case, rehabilitation …
READ MORE

RELATED WORDS

passionately, eagerly, frantically, furiously, madly, wildly, tensely, heatedly, breathlessly, nervously, timidly, excitedly, restlessly, anxiously, erratically, tempestuously, feverishly, hotly, hysterically, uncontrollably

Nearby words

  1. appreciative,
  2. appreciatory,
  3. apprehend,
  4. apprehensible,
  5. apprehension,
  6. apprehensively,
  7. apprentice,
  8. apprenticeship,
  9. appressed,
  10. appressorium

Origin of apprehensive

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Medieval Latin word apprehēnsīvus. See apprehensible, -ive
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for apprehensively

British Dictionary definitions for apprehensively

apprehensive

/ (ˌæprɪˈhɛnsɪv) /

adjective

fearful or anxious
Derived Formsapprehensively, adverbapprehensiveness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for apprehensively

apprehensive

adj.

late 14c., "capable of perceiving, fitted for mental impression," from Medieval Latin apprehensivus, from Latin apprehensus, past participle of apprehendere (see apprehend). Meaning "fearful of what is to come" is recorded from 1718, via notion of "capable of grasping with the mind" (c.1600). Related: Apprehensively; apprehensiveness.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper