trepidation
Americannoun
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tremulous fear, alarm, or agitation; perturbation.
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Archaic. trembling or quivering movement; tremor.
noun
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a state of fear or anxiety
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a condition of quaking or palpitation, esp one caused by anxiety
Other Word Forms
- trepidatious adjective
- trepidatiously adverb
Etymology
Origin of trepidation
First recorded in 1600–10; from Latin trepidātiōn- (stem of trepidātiō ), equivalent to trepidāt(us) (past participle of trepidāre “to hurry, panic, alarm” + -iōn- noun suffix; see trepid, -ate 1, -ion
Explanation
When plain old "fear" isn't enough to get across a deep feeling of dread about something on the horizon, use the more formal word trepidation. "It was with a certain trepidation that I attended an advance screening of Rob Zombie's Halloween in Hollywood last night," wrote a film reviewer. Some dictionaries note that trepidation carries connotations of apprehension about an upcoming threat. In most cases, though, you can get by with the simpler word fear — why use three syllables when you could make do with one? The word comes from the Latin verb trepidare, "to tremble."
Vocabulary lists containing trepidation
The Crucible
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Words inspired by "Inside Out"
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The Maze Runner
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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.
With great trepidation, I began to search for French news articles about the death of Quentin Deranque.
From Salon • Mar. 28, 2026
Despite my cat trepidation, I saw him again, just to make sure my first-date magic wasn’t a fluke.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026
Donnelly described feeling "a certain amount of trepidation" about getting back in the car.
From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026
Looming in the background for Carney, though, are domestic political considerations, with trepidation from pockets of the country’s Indian diaspora.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026
Chandresh asks, eyeing it with a certain amount of trepidation.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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.
