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View synonyms for anxious

anxious

[ angk-shuhs, ang- ]

adjective

  1. full of mental distress or uneasiness because of fear of danger or misfortune; greatly worried; apprehensive:

    Her parents were anxious about her poor health.

    Synonyms: enthusiastic, solicitous, uneasy, fearful, disturbed, concerned

    Antonyms: confident, calm

  2. earnestly desirous; eager (usually followed by an infinitive or for ): anxious for our happiness.

    anxious to please;

    anxious for our happiness.

    Antonyms: hesitant, reluctant

  3. attended with or showing solicitude or uneasiness:

    anxious forebodings.



anxious

/ ˈæŋkʃəs; ˈæŋʃəs /

adjective

  1. worried and tense because of possible misfortune, danger, etc; uneasy
  2. fraught with or causing anxiety; worrying; distressing

    an anxious time

  3. intensely desirous; eager

    anxious for promotion

“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈanxiousness, noun
  • ˈanxiously, adverb
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Other Words From

  • anx·ious·ly adverb
  • anx·ious·ness noun
  • qua·si-anx·ious adjective
  • un·anx·ious adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of anxious1

First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin anxius “worried, distressed,” derivative of angere “to strangle, pain, distress”; anguish, -ous
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Word History and Origins

Origin of anxious1

C17: from Latin anxius; related to Latin angere to torment; see anger , anguish
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Compare Meanings

How does anxious compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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Example Sentences

Posts like that were only one example of "doom spending" — a concept of spending more money when we feel anxious.

From Salon

My serenity has slid and I’m sweating and getting more anxious by the second.

On the other hand, if researchers shut this circuit off, breathing rates went up, and the mice became more anxious.

“Don’t,” blurted her mother, Rebecca Marriott, who laughed along with everyone else, but kept sneaking anxious peeks at her watch.

“I could feel it when I went into my classroom,” said the professor, whose research has found that people with political anxiety aren’t necessarily anxious in general.

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