anxiety
Americannoun
-
anxieties
plural
-
distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune.
He felt anxiety about the possible loss of his job.
- Synonyms:
- disquiet, worry, foreboding, fear
- Antonyms:
- tranquility, serenity, certainty
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earnest but tense desire; eagerness.
He had a keen anxiety to succeed in his work.
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Psychiatry. a state of apprehension and psychic tension occurring in some forms of mental disorder.
noun
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a state of uneasiness or tension caused by apprehension of possible future misfortune, danger, etc; worry
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intense desire; eagerness
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psychol a state of intense apprehension or worry often accompanied by physical symptoms such as shaking, intense feelings in the gut, etc, common in mental illness or after a very distressing experience See also angst
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A state of apprehension and fear resulting from the anticipation of a threatening event or situation.
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◆ In psychiatry, a patient has an anxiety disorder ◆ if normal psychological functioning is disrupted or if anxiety persists without an identifiable cause.
Synonym Usage
See apprehension.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of anxiety
First recorded in 1515–25; from Latin anxietās, equivalent to anxi(us) anxious + -etās, variant of -itās before a vowel
Compare meaning
How does anxiety compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Anxiety is the vague, uneasy feeling you get when you're dreading something. Anxiety can also be a permanent state of nervousness that some people with mental illnesses experience, a milder version of panic. When a scary or unpleasant event is looming, like getting a family portrait taken the year you have braces, you might feel some anxiety. You might also feel anxiety about passing chemistry, especially if you’ve skipped a lot of classes. Someone who suffers from a mild or severe mental illness might feel anxiety all the time. Deep breathing, playing relaxing music, and medication have all been known to help reduce anxiety.
Vocabulary lists containing anxiety
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 4
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"The Tell-Tale Heart," Vocabulary from the short story
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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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.
See Examples For:
She experienced anxiety, panic attacks, and mood swings.
From Slate ● Oct. 21, 2026
For many years, Rochelle Lewis, from Wolverhampton, struggled with facial hair growth, painful periods and anxiety.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
Together, the unrest, economic anxiety and growing support for political outsiders point to an uncertain future for France.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
As the long, 50-some-day production schedule rolls on, the viewer can feel Eleanor’s anxiety ease, allowing pride to take full control.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
The flowers on his skin were stirring, some lifting off as if responding to his great anxiety.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
A few weeks ago, shares of Schwab and other financial-services firms tumbled after Muse’s launch triggered anxieties that agents might someday dispense advice or be deployed to sort customer’s cash, funneling dollars into higher-yielding accounts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
Tyree, a professor of cinema at Virginia Commonwealth University and the editor in chief of Film Quarterly, "popular movies always are reflecting these social anxieties of the day."
From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2026
Fake shopping sprees and ‘happiness insurance’: The latest fintech apps reveal our financial anxieties.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
Like any good advertising, it worked best when soothing our anxieties and tapping into our fantasies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
In those first weeks, the cold startled Obinze with its weightless menace, drying his nostrils, deepening his anxieties, making him urinate too often.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
