worry

[ wur-ee, wuhr-ee ]

/ ˈwɜr i, ˈwʌr i /

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See synonyms for: worry / worried / worries / worrying on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), wor·ried, wor·ry·ing.

to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; fret.

to move with effort: an old car worrying uphill.

verb (used with object), wor·ried, wor·ry·ing.

to torment with cares, anxieties, etc.; trouble; plague.

to seize, especially by the throat, with the teeth and shake or mangle, as one animal does another.

to harass by repeated biting, snapping, etc.

noun, plural wor·ries.

a worried condition or feeling; uneasiness or anxiety.

a cause of uneasiness or anxiety; trouble.

the act of worrying.

Fox Hunting. the action of the hounds in tearing to pieces the carcass of a fox.

Verb Phrases

worry along / through Informal. to progress or succeed by constant effort, despite difficulty: to worry through an intolerable situation.

OTHER WORDS FOR worry

3 tease, harry, hector, badger, distress.

6 apprehension, solicitude, disquiet, misgiving, fear.

See synonyms for worry on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Idioms about worry

no worries, Informal.

Don’t be worried or troubled; everything will be fine: We'll help you move your stuff, no worries!
(used as a conventional reply to thank you or thanks): Oh, no worries, it was fun having you come with us!

Also not to worry .

Origin of worry

First recorded before 900; Middle English weryen, werwen, wyrwyn “to strangle, bite, harass,” Old English wyrgan “to strangle”; cognate with German würgen

synonym study for worry

3. Worry, annoy, harass all mean to disturb or interfere with someone's comfort or peace of mind. To worry is to cause anxiety, apprehension, or care: to worry one's parents. To annoy is to vex or irritate by continued repetition of interferences: to annoy the neighbors. Harass implies long-continued disturbance, torment, or persecution: to harrass a creditor.

OTHER WORDS FROM worry

wor·ri·er, nounwor·ri·less, adjectivewor·ry·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use worry in a sentence

While that is a long-shot possibility that has never happened, Democrats are now beginning to express worry about it.
Pressure mounts on state Republicans as lawsuits challenging election results founder|Elise Viebeck, Tom Hamburger, Jon Swaine, Emma Brown|November 12, 2020|Washington Post
So some worry that Facebook’s stated commitment to ad transparency is an empty promise and that the platform has failed to moderate itself successfully.
Facebook glitch blocks certain political ads, raising new questions about transparency|Rebecca Heilweil|October 30, 2020|Vox
The distance of an ocean, combined with the safety of fiction, might qualify the series as a sort of escape from all the other worries weighing on a viewer’s mind.
With ‘Roadkill,’ PBS invites you to watch a narcissist politician who gets away with everything. How does that grab you?|Hank Stuever|October 30, 2020|Washington Post
Amid the worries surrounding the Postal Service, hundreds of Virginia voters have called the state elections office trying to cancel their mail-ballot requests, according to Chris Piper, the top elections official in the state.
Virginia voting guide: What to know about early voting, mail-in ballots|Antonio Olivo, Patricia Sullivan|October 28, 2020|Washington Post

Both Ulbrich and Gensler also said worries about a collapse in commercial real estate are overblown.
No, offices aren’t going away—but they won’t be the same|Jeff|October 27, 2020|Fortune
Once you begin to pick up on these things, the preposterousness of “beefing up security” becomes worryingly self-evident.
The Strange World of Political Assassination Fantasies|James Poulos|September 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Their presence makes you think all the better (worryingly) of all the arrested development-struck British men.
‘Made in Chelsea’ Has a New York Moment|Tim Teeman|August 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But also more worryingly, we have a Yazidi and Christian populations that are gravely under threat right now.
Obama’s Iraq Plan Has a Killer Flaw—and Airstrikes Alone May Not Save It|Jacob Siegel|August 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is something we all knew eventually would become a reality and, more worryingly, knew we could not prevent.
The Syrian War Comes Home to Europe|Ghaffar Hussain|June 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And worryingly, 20 years after Roe vs. Wade, only 12 percent of OB-GYN programs taught abortion techniques.
The Medical Community’s Hidden Abortion-Training War|Abigail Golden|February 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for worry

worry

/ (ˈwʌrɪ) /

verb -ries, -rying or -ried

to be or cause to be anxious or uneasy, esp about something uncertain or potentially dangerous

(tr) to disturb the peace of mind of; botherdon't worry me with trivialities

(intr; often foll by along or through) to proceed despite difficulties

(intr often foll by away) to struggle or workto worry away at a problem

(tr) (of a dog, wolf, etc) to lacerate or kill by biting, shaking, etc

(when intr, foll by at) to bite, tear, or gnaw (at) with the teetha dog worrying a bone

(tr) to move as specified, esp by repeated pushesthey worried the log into the river

(tr) to touch or poke repeatedly and idly

obsolete to choke or cause to choke

not to worry informal you need not worry

noun plural -ries

a state or feeling of anxiety

a person or thing that causes anxiety

an act of worrying

no worries informal an expression used to express agreement or to convey that something is proceeding or has proceeded satisfactorily; no problem

Derived forms of worry

worrying, adjectiveworryingly, adverb

Word Origin for worry

Old English wyrgan; related to Old Frisian wergia to kill, Old High German wurgen (German (er) würgen to strangle), Old Norse virgill, urga rope

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

worry

OTHER WORDS FOR worry

Idioms about worry

Origin of worry

synonym study for worry

OTHER WORDS FROM worry

Words related to worry

How to use worry in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for worry

Derived forms of worry

Word Origin for worry