anxiety Hear it!

anxiety definition

anxi·ety (aŋ zī′ə tē)

noun pl. anxieties -·ties

  1. a state of being uneasy, apprehensive, or worried about what may happen; concern about a possible future event
  2. Psychiatry an abnormal state like this, characterized by a feeling of being powerless and unable to cope with threatening events, typically imaginary, and by physical tension, as shown by sweating, trembling, etc.
  3. an eager but often uneasy desire anxiety to do well

Etymology: L anxietas < anxius, anxious

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.