I Love Words
Anxiety, n.
1a(1) : apprehensive uneasiness or nervousness usually over an impending or anticipated ill : a state of being anxious
More Buddhist uprisings in South Vietnam in the spring of 1966 intensified my anxiety.
— Robert S. McNamara
I felt my anxiety rise as we pressed deeper underground.
— Jon Krakauer
(2) medical : an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physical signs (such as tension, sweating, and increased pulse rate), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one's capacity to cope with it
b : mentally distressing concern or interest
Yet the pace of a child's progress can also be a source of anxiety for mothers and fathers.
— Susan Ochshorn
c : a strong desire sometimes mixed with doubt, fear, or uneasiness
… his anxiety to succeed and his continued nervousness over the possible bankruptcy of his shoe company caused her to lecture him about relaxing and caring for his health.
— William Drake
… present a gamble that consumers, in their anxiety to make an affordable deal, do not always appreciate.
— Stephen Koepp
2 : a cause of anxiety
… citizens stressed by gnawing economic and social anxieties.
— Michael Pertschuk
(merriam-webster.com)
1a(1) : apprehensive uneasiness or nervousness usually over an impending or anticipated ill : a state of being anxious
More Buddhist uprisings in South Vietnam in the spring of 1966 intensified my anxiety.
— Robert S. McNamara
I felt my anxiety rise as we pressed deeper underground.
— Jon Krakauer
(2) medical : an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physical signs (such as tension, sweating, and increased pulse rate), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one's capacity to cope with it
b : mentally distressing concern or interest
Yet the pace of a child's progress can also be a source of anxiety for mothers and fathers.
— Susan Ochshorn
c : a strong desire sometimes mixed with doubt, fear, or uneasiness
… his anxiety to succeed and his continued nervousness over the possible bankruptcy of his shoe company caused her to lecture him about relaxing and caring for his health.
— William Drake
… present a gamble that consumers, in their anxiety to make an affordable deal, do not always appreciate.
— Stephen Koepp
2 : a cause of anxiety
… citizens stressed by gnawing economic and social anxieties.
— Michael Pertschuk
(merriam-webster.com)
