concerned
Americanadjective
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interested or affected.
concerned citizens.
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troubled or anxious.
a concerned look.
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having a connection or involvement; participating.
They arrested all those concerned in the kidnapping.
adjective
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(postpositive) interested, guilty, involved, or appropriate
I shall find the boy concerned and punish him
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worried, troubled, or solicitous
Other Word Forms
- concernedly adverb
- concernedness noun
- underconcerned adjective
Etymology
Origin of concerned
Explanation
If you're concerned, you're feeling worried. When your clumsy friend announces his plans to become a stunt double, you should be concerned for his safety, and if you're not, you're a lousy friend. The adjective concerned has roots in Latin terms for seeing clearly, as well as for being in relation to something. If you feel concerned, say for your neighbor who just bet his savings on a horse race, that's because you truly care for his well-being and you see that he's doing something stupid. Sometimes we use concerned to show the limits of our investment. As far as you are concerned, Madame X can jump off a cliff! You don't care!
Vocabulary lists containing concerned
Workshop 2, Part 1
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Words to Capture Tone, List 11
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List 3
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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.
In a joint statement, some of the affected universities said they were "extremely concerned" by the move and were considering a legal challenge.
From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026
By the summer of 1990, some investors were concerned that the long rally and economic growth were coming to an end.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
Big picture: Americans grew much more concerned about their personal finances and the health of the economy as higher gasoline prices started to bite in April.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026
Oberon, an Archfey god, stood alongside them, concerned.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
The CIA was particularly concerned that the pilot might have been drugged and brainwashed by the Russians.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
