apprehensive
[ ap-ri-hen-siv ]
/ ˌæp rɪˈhɛn sɪv /
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).
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RELATED WORDS
foreboding, alarm, disquiet, mistrust, misgiving, trepidation, doubt, uneasiness, dread, suspicion, worry, anxiety, hesitation, apprehension, unease, distrust, qualm, reservation, hunch, omen
Nearby words
- appreciative,
- appreciatory,
- apprehend,
- apprehensible,
- apprehension,
- apprehensively,
- apprentice,
- apprenticeship,
- appressed,
- appressorium
Origin of apprehensive
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Medieval Latin word apprehēnsīvus. See apprehensible, -ive
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for apprehensiveness
apprehensive
/ (ˌæprɪˈhɛnsɪv) /
adjective
fearful or anxious
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
apprehensive
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