death anxiety

American  

[deth ang-zahy-i-tee] / ˈdɛθ æŋˌzaɪ ɪ ti /

noun

Psychiatry.

1. a morbid awareness of mortality, together with an extreme fear of one’s own death, the process of dying, the afterlife, or the death of a loved one: The data may show a negative correlation of death anxiety and religiosity.

   There wasn’t a single negative event that triggered my existential death anxiety—just the intrusive, obsessive thought of not existing.

   The data may show a negative correlation of death anxiety and religiosity.

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Etymology

Origin of death anxiety

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

“It reveals the choice of magic as the most suitable ritual technology to manage death anxiety and phantom menaces.”

From New York Times • Mar. 25, 2023

The data to date show using psilocybin in a controlled therapeutic environment decreases death anxiety, increases optimism and quality of life for people near the end of life.

From Slate • Nov. 7, 2022

Patients in this latter group were much more likely to report pain, desire for death, anxiety and depression than those who reported little or no loss of dignity.

From Washington Post • Dec. 3, 2021

“In general, death anxiety subsides later in life. But for some elderly, it can be very high and contribute to their depression and anxiety.”

From Washington Post • Nov. 5, 2021

"Studies show that the height of death anxiety occurs in people's 40s and 50s," notes Karen Fingerman, a gerontologist at Penn State.

From Time Magazine Archive