anxiety

[ang-zahy-i-tee] /æŋˈzaɪ ɪ ti/
noun, plural anxieties.
1.
distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune:
He felt anxiety about the possible loss of his job.
2.
earnest but tense desire; eagerness:
He had a keen anxiety to succeed in his work.
3.
Psychiatry. a state of apprehension and psychic tension occurring in some forms of mental disorder.
Origin
1515-25; < Latin anxietās, equivalent to anxi(us) anxious + -etās, variant of -itās before a vowel
Synonyms
1. fear, foreboding; worry, disquiet. See apprehension.
Antonyms
1. certainty, serenity, tranquillity.
Examples from the web for anxiety
  • But they controlled for worry and generalized anxiety in order to isolate specific anxiety about feeling anxious.
  • They're claiming severe test anxiety.
  • Speaking at some events and to some groups will cause extreme anxiety.
  • Insects provoke anxiety in many people.
  • Some colleges deal with separation anxiety in peculiar ways.
  • But drivers will need to learn to cope with "range anxiety" and adopt a different style of driving.
  • He had a terrifically hard time with anxiety.
  • Apathy, anxiety or snobbishness frequently seem to have more to do with the choice than careful exploration or calm reasoning.
  • Can stress and anxiety make allergy symptoms worse? .
  • Being local does bring some added anxiety, though, as people know them and stop to ask how the horses are doing.
British Dictionary definitions for anxiety

anxiety

/æŋˈzaɪɪtɪ/
noun (pl) -ties
1.
a state of uneasiness or tension caused by apprehension of possible future misfortune, danger, etc; worry
2.
intense desire; eagerness
3.
(psychol) a state of intense apprehension or worry often accompanied by physical symptoms such as shaking, intense feelings in the gut, etc, common in mental illness or after a very distressing experience See also angst
Word Origin
C16: from Latin anxietas; see anxious
Word Origin and History for anxiety
n.

1520s, from Latin anxietatem (nominative anxietas) "anguish, anxiety, solicitude," noun of quality from anxius (see anxious). Psychiatric use dates to 1904. Age of Anxiety is from Auden's poem (1947). For "anxiety, distress," Old English had angsumnes, Middle English anxumnesse.

anxiety in Medicine

anxiety anx·i·e·ty (āng-zī'ĭ-tē)
n.

  1. A state of uneasiness and apprehension, as about future uncertainties.

  2. A cause of anxiety.

  3. A state of intense apprehension, uncertainty, and fear resulting from the anticipation of a threatening event or situation, often to a degree that normal physical and psychological functioning is disrupted.

  4. Eager, often agitated desire.

anxiety in Science
anxiety
  (āng-zī'ĭ-tē)   
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.
anxiety in Culture

anxiety definition


Emotional distress, especially that brought on by fear of failure. (See also angst.)