anxiously

[ angk-shuhs-lee, ang- ]

adverb

1. in an uneasy or worried manner:

   My first call was to my wife, who had been anxiously awaiting word of my whereabouts.

2. in an earnestly desirous or eager manner:

   They are anxiously awaiting the birth of their first child.

Other Words From

• qua·si-anx·ious·ly adverb
• un·anx·ious·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of anxiously¹

anxious ( def ) + -ly

Example Sentences

The football world was anxiously awaiting a sizzling appearance from one of the NFL’s hottest and most exciting teams … and they took a pass.

From Los Angeles Times

Guardiola had already been perching anxiously on one knee, his face wreathed in anguish, well before Joao Pedro's 77th-minute equaliser started the Brighton comeback that inflicted a fourth successive defeat, City’s first such sequence since 2006.

From BBC

To that end, while many observers have been anxiously awaiting news of swing states, McIlroy has been more preoccupied with the state of his swing.

From BBC

He anxiously begins to answer the pronunciation of California landmarks — “Monterey Park,” “Santa Ana,” “Sacramento” and more.

From Los Angeles Times

"I think people are anxiously excited right now," she said.

From Salon

Related Words

• attentively
• conscientiously
• correctly
• deliberately
• delicately
• discreetly
• faithfully
• fully
• gingerly
• laboriously
• meticulously
• precisely
• prudently
• rigorously
• scrupulously
• thoroughly
• thoughtfully
• warily