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anxiety

   Also found in: Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.03 sec.
anx·i·e·ty  (ng-z-t)
n. pl. anx·i·e·ties
1.
a. A state of uneasiness and apprehension, as about future uncertainties.
b. A cause of anxiety: For some people, air travel is a real anxiety.
2. Psychiatry A state of apprehension, uncertainty, and fear resulting from the anticipation of a realistic or fantasized threatening event or situation, often impairing physical and psychological functioning.
3. Eager, often agitated desire: my anxiety to make a good impression.

[Latin nxiets, from nxius, anxious; see anxious.]
Synonyms: anxiety, worry, care, concern, solicitude
These nouns refer to troubled states of mind. Anxiety suggests feelings of fear and apprehension: "Feelings of resentment and rage over this devious form of manipulation cannot surface in the child.... At the most, he will experience feelings of anxiety, shame, insecurity, and helplessness" Alice Miller.
Worry implies persistent doubt or fear: "Having come to a decision the lad felt a sense of relief from the worry that had haunted him for many sleepless nights" Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Care denotes a state of mind burdened by heavy responsibilities: The old man's face was worn with care.
Concern stresses serious thought combined with emotion: "Concern for man himself and his fate must always form the chief interest of all technical endeavors" Albert Einstein.
Solicitude is active and sometimes excessive concern for another's well-being: "Animosity had given way ... to worried solicitude for Lindbergh's safety" Warren Trabant.

anxiety
Noun
pl -ties
1. a state of uneasiness about what may happen
2. eagerness: she was uneasy with his mixture of diffidence and anxiety to please

anxiety  (ng-z-t)
A state of apprehension and fear resulting from the anticipation of a threatening event or situation. In psychiatry, a patient has an anxiety disorder if normal psychological functioning is disrupted or if anxiety persists without an identifiable cause.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.anxietyanxiety - (psychiatry) a relatively permanent state of worry and nervousness occurring in a variety of mental disorders, usually accompanied by compulsive behavior or attacks of panic
psychiatry, psychological medicine, psychopathology - the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders
mental condition, mental state, psychological condition, psychological state - (psychology) a mental condition in which the qualities of a state are relatively constant even though the state itself may be dynamic; "a manic state"
castration anxiety - (psychoanalysis) anxiety resulting from real or imagined threats to your sexual functions; originally applied only to men but can in principle apply to women
hypochondria, hypochondriasis - chronic and abnormal anxiety about imaginary symptoms and ailments
overanxiety - excessive anxiety
scare, panic - sudden mass fear and anxiety over anticipated events; "panic in the stock market"; "a war scare"; "a bomb scare led them to evacuate the building"
2.anxietyanxiety - a vague unpleasant emotion that is experienced in anticipation of some (usually ill-defined) misfortune
emotion - any strong feeling
worry, trouble - a strong feeling of anxiety; "his worry over the prospect of being fired"; "it is not work but worry that kills"; "he wanted to die and end his troubles"
concern, fear, care - an anxious feeling; "care had aged him"; "they hushed it up out of fear of public reaction"
disquiet, anxiousness - a feeling of mild anxiety about possible developments
insecurity - the anxiety you experience when you feel vulnerable and insecure
disquietude, edginess, inquietude, uneasiness - feelings of anxiety that make you tense and irritable
sinking feeling, sinking - a feeling caused by uneasiness or apprehension; "with a sinking heart"; "a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach"
misgiving, qualm, scruple - uneasiness about the fitness of an action
jitteriness, jumpiness, nervousness, restiveness - the anxious feeling you have when you have the jitters
angst - an acute but unspecific feeling of anxiety; usually reserved for philosophical anxiety about the world or about personal freedom

anxiety
Translations
Spanish anxiety [æŋˈzaɪətɪ] n (= worry) → inquietud f (= eagerness); ansia, anhelo
French anxiety [æŋˈzaɪətɪ] nanxiété f (= keenness);
anxiety to do → grand désir or impatience f de faire

German anxiety [æŋˈzaɪətɪ] n (worry) → Sorge f;
(Med) → Angstzustand m;
(eagerness);
anxiety to do sth → Verlangen (danach), etw zu tun

Italian anxiety [æŋˈzaɪətɪ] nansia (= keenness): anxiety to do → smania di fare

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But in spite of this lowest-grade greeting, a look of anxiety and fear, as at the sight of something too large and unsuited to the place, came over her face when she saw Pierre enter.
But, in spite of that, the mother had spent the whole of that winter in a state of terrible anxiety and agitation.
The young man drew a pile of the sassafras from the cave, and placing it in the chasm which separated the two caverns, it was occupied by the sisters, who were thus protected by the rocks from any missiles, while their anxiety was relieved by the assurance that no danger could approach without a warning.
 
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