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apprehensive

[ ap-ri-hen-siv ]
/ ˌæp rɪˈhɛn sɪv /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR apprehensive

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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Origin of apprehensive

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Medieval Latin word apprehēnsīvus.See apprehensible, -ive

OTHER WORDS FROM apprehensive

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to apprehensive

jumpy, afraid, uncertain, concerned, suspicious, doubtful, uneasy, uptight, jittery, alarmed, foreboding, frozen, hung up, lily-livered, shaky, stiff, troubled, weak, worried, mistrustful

Example sentences from the Web for apprehensive

British Dictionary definitions for apprehensive

apprehensive
/ (ˌæprɪˈhɛnsɪv) /

adjective

fearful or anxious

Derived forms of apprehensive

apprehensively, 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