Adjacent Words

Anxiety definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ANXI'ETY, n. angzi'ety. [L. anxietas, from anxius, solicitous; L. ango. See Anger.]
1. concern or solicitude respecting some event, future or uncertain, which disturbs the mind, and keeps it in a state of painful uneasinerr. it expresses more than uneasiness or disturbance, and even more than trouble or solicitude. it usually springs from fear or serious apprehension of evil, and involves a suspense respecting an event, and often, a perplexity of mind, to know how to shape our conduct.
2. In medical language, uneasiness; unceasing restlessness in sickness.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: (psychiatry) a relatively permanent state of worry and nervousness occurring in a variety of mental disorders, usually accompanied by compulsive behavior or attacks of panic [syn: anxiety, anxiousness]
2: a vague unpleasant emotion that is experienced in anticipation of some (usually ill-defined) misfortune

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural -eties) Etymology: Latin anxietas, from anxius Date: circa 1525 1. a. painful or apprehensive uneasiness of mind usually over an impending or anticipated ill b. fearful concern or interest c. a cause of anxiety 2. an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physiological signs (as sweating, tension, and increased pulse), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one's capacity to cope with it Synonyms: see care

Britannica Concise

In psychology, a feeling of dread, fear, or apprehension, often with no clear justification. Anxiety differs from true fear in that it is typically the product of subjective, internal emotional states rather than a response to a clear and actual danger. It is marked by physiological signs such as sweating, tension, and increased pulse, by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the perceived threat, and by self-doubt about one's capacity to cope with it. Some anxiety inevitably arises in the course of daily life and is normal; but persistent, intense, chronic, or recurring anxiety not justified by real-life stresses is usually regarded as a sign of an emotional disorder. See also stress.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. -ies) 1 the state of being anxious. 2 concern about an imminent danger, difficulty, etc. 3 (foll. by for, or to + infin.) anxious desire. 4 a thing that causes anxiety (my greatest anxiety is that I shall fall ill). 5 Psychol. a nervous disorder characterized by a state of excessive uneasiness. Etymology: F anxieté or L anxietas -tatis (as ANXIOUS)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Anxiety Anx*i"e*ty, n.; pl. Anxieties. [L. anxietas, fr. anxius: cf. F. anxi['e]t['e]. See Anxious.] 1. Concern or solicitude respecting some thing or event, future or uncertain, which disturbs the mind, and keeps it in a state of painful uneasiness. 2. Eager desire. --J. D. Forbes 3. (Med.) A state of restlessness and agitation, often with general indisposition and a distressing sense of oppression at the epigastrium. --Dunglison. Syn: Care; solicitude; foreboding; uneasiness; perplexity; disquietude; disquiet; trouble; apprehension; restlessness. See Care.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(anxieties) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. Anxiety is a feeling of nervousness or worry. Her voice was full of anxiety... Many editorials express their anxieties about the economic chaos in the country. N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Solicitude, concern, care, uneasiness, disquiet, disquietude, apprehension, fear, misgiving, foreboding, perplexity, worry, vexation, trouble, pain.

Moby Thesaurus

abstraction, abulia, ache, ado, alacrity, alienation, all-overs, angst, anguish, animation, annoyance, anxiety equivalent, anxiety state, anxiousness, apathy, appetite, apprehension, apprehensiveness, avidity, avidness, besetment, boredom, bother, breathless impatience, can of worms, catatonic stupor, chafing, cheerful readiness, cheerlessness, cliff-hanging, compulsion, concern, concernment, dejection, depression, desire, detachment, disadvantage, discomfort, discomposure, discontent, dislike, displeasure, disquiet, disquietude, dissatisfaction, distress, doubt, dread, dullness, eagerness, elan, elation, emotionalism, emptiness, ennui, euphoria, evil, excitement, existential woe, expectant waiting, flatness, folie du doute, foreboding, forwardness, fretfulness, fretting, great ado, grimness, gust, gusto, haste, headache, hypochondria, hysteria, hysterics, impatience, impatientness, impetuousness, inconvenience, indifference, inquietude, insensibility, joylessness, keen desire, keenness, lack of pleasure, lather, lethargy, life, liveliness, longing, malaise, mania, matter, melancholia, mental distress, misery, misgiving, mistrust, nausea, nervousness, nongratification, nonsatisfaction, obsession, painfulness, panic, pathological indecisiveness, peck of troubles, pessimism, preoccupation, problem, promptness, psychalgia, psychomotor disturbance, qualm, qualmishness, quickness, readiness, restiveness, restlessness, savorlessness, sea of troubles, solicitude, spirit, spleen, staleness, stew, stupor, suffering, suspense, sweat, tastelessness, tediousness, tedium, tense readiness, thirst, tic, trouble, twitching, uncertainty, uncomfortableness, unease, uneasiness, unhappiness, unpatientness, unpleasure, unquietness, unresponsiveness, unsatisfaction, verve, vexation of spirit, vitality, vivacity, waiting, withdrawal, worry, zest, zestfulness