English

Noun

anxiety ‎(plural anxieties)

1. An unpleasant state of mental uneasiness, nervousness, apprehension and obsession or concern about some uncertain event.
   • 1907, Harold Bindloss, chapter 4, in The Dust of Conflict:

     The inquest on keeper Davidson was duly held, and at the commencement seemed likely to cause Tony Palliser less anxiety than he had expected.

   • 2005, Plato, Sophist. Translation by Lesley Brown. 268a.

     But the other, because he's been immersed in arguments, gives the appearance of harbouring considerable anxiety and suspicion that he's ignorant of those matters he presents himself to others as an expert on.

2. An uneasy or distressing desire (for something).

   I was anxious to get into the office before Henderson called from New York.

3. (pathology) A state of restlessness and agitation, often accompanied by a distressing sense of oppression or tightness in the stomach.

Synonyms

• care, solicitude, foreboding, uneasiness, perplexity, disquietude, disquiet, trouble, apprehension, restlessness, distress

Related terms

• anguish
• anger
• anxious

Translations

External links

• anxiety in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• anxiety in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911