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Synonyms

angst

American  
[ahngkst, angst] / ɑŋkst, æŋst /

noun

  1. a feeling of dread, anxiety, or anguish.

angst British  
/ æŋst, aŋst /

noun

  1. an acute but nonspecific sense of anxiety or remorse

  2. (in Existentialist philosophy) the dread caused by man's awareness that his future is not determined but must be freely chosen

"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
angst Cultural  

  1. A kind of fear or anxiety; Angst is German for “fear.” It is usually applied to a deep and essentially philosophical anxiety about the world in general or personal freedom. (See existentialism.)

Other Word Forms

  • angsty adjective

Etymology

Origin of angst

First recorded in 1840–50; from German Angst “fear, anxiety,” Old High German angust (cognate with Middle Low German angest, Middle Dutch anxt ), from ang- (akin to eng “narrow, constricted”) + -st, abstract noun suffix

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Its lower price also reflects the higher shipping costs required to get it to Asian buyers, as well as angst that the U.S. might restrict crude exports to husband energy resources at home.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

As the Times’ polling guru Nate Cohn put it, the survey revealed deep angst about being able to meet “the rising price of entry for a middle-class life.”

From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026

Intense angst over César Chávez’s legacy amid sexual abuse allegations is ripping through California classrooms, prompting teachers, scholars and school systems to urgently revamp lessons about one of California’s most widely taught historic figures.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026

Leadership angst remains, and could come roaring back in May.

From BBC • Mar. 21, 2026

“All the problems in the world, all my anger, my teenage angst, if that’s what it’s called, my insecurities. Nothing else makes that happen.”

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.