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

See Examples For:

death anxiety

“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

And yet, many still find it hard to talk about death and dying, avoiding news that could trigger death anxiety.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 5, 2021

To confront death anxiety, Menzies suggests reading obituaries or watching shows that involve death and dying, especially if these had been previously avoided.

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