Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Worry
Wor′ry
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Worried
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Worrying
.] [OE.
worowen
, wirien
, to strangle, AS. wyrgan
in āwyrgan
; akin to D. worgen
, wurgen
, to strangle, OHG. wurgen
, G. würgen
, Lith. verszti
, and perhaps to E. wring
.] 1.
To harass by pursuit and barking; to attack repeatedly; also, to tear or mangle with the teeth.
A hellhound that doth hunt us all to death;
That dog that had his teeth before his eyes,
To
That dog that had his teeth before his eyes,
To
worry
lambs and lap their gentle blood. Shakespeare
2.
To harass or beset with importunity, or with care an anxiety; to vex; to annoy; to torment; to tease; to fret; to trouble; to plague.
“A church worried with reformation.” South.
Let them rail,
And
And
worry
one another at their pleasure. Rowe.
Worry
him out till he gives consent. Swift.
3.
To harass with labor; to fatigue.
[Colloq.]
Wor′ry
,Verb.
I.
To feel or express undue care and anxiety; to manifest disquietude or pain; to be fretful; to chafe;
as, the child
worries
; the horse worries
.Wor′ry
,Noun.
pl.
Worries
. A state of undue solicitude; a state of disturbance from care and anxiety; vexation; anxiety; fret;
“The whir and worry of spindle and of loom.” as, to be in a
. worry
Sir T. Browne.
Webster 1828 Edition
Worry
WORRY
,Verb.
T.
1.
To tease; to trouble; to harass with importunity, or with care and anxiety. Persons are often worried with care and solicitude.Let them rail and then worry one another at their pleasure.
Worry him out till he gives his consent.
A church worried with reformation.
2.
To fatigue; to harass with labor; a popular sense of the word.3.
To harass by pursuit and barking; as, dogs worry sheep.4.
To tear; to mangle with the teeth.5.
To vex; to persecute brutally.Definition 2024
worry
worry
English
Verb
worry (third-person singular simple present worries, present participle worrying, simple past and past participle worried)
- (transitive) To seize or shake by the throat, especially of a dog or wolf.
- Your dog’s been worrying sheep again.
- (transitive) To harass; to irritate or distress.
- The President was worried into military action by persistent advisors.
- (transitive) Disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress.
- 2013 August 10, “Can China clean up fast enough?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:
- That worries the government, which fears that environmental activism could become the foundation for more general political opposition.
- Your tone of voice worries me.
-
- (intransitive) To be troubled, to give way to mental anxiety.
- Stop worrying about your test, it’ll be fine.
- (transitive) To touch repeatedly, to fiddle with.
- 1997, David Sedaris, "A Plague of Tics", Naked, page 15:
- So what if I wanted to touch my nose to the windshield? Who was it hurting? Why was it that he could repeatedly worry his change and bite his lower lip without the threat of punishment?
- 1997, David Sedaris, "A Plague of Tics", Naked, page 15:
- (transitive, obsolete, except in Scots) To strangle.
Synonyms
- (trouble mentally): fret
Translations
seize or shake by the throat
harass, irritate
disturb the peace of mind of
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be troubled
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strangle — see strangle
Noun
worry (countable and uncountable, plural worries)
- A strong feeling of anxiety.
- I'm afflicted by worry throughout the night.
- An instance or cause of such a feeling.
- My main worry is that I'll miss the train.
Derived terms
Translations
strong feeling of anxiety
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