concern

[kuh n-surn] /kənˈsɜrn/
verb (used with object)
1.
to relate to; be connected with; be of interest or importance to; affect:
The water shortage concerns us all.
2.
to interest or engage (used reflexively or in the passive, often followed by with or in):
She concerns herself with every aspect of the business.
3.
to trouble, worry, or disquiet:
I am concerned about his health.
noun
4.
something that relates or pertains to a person; business; affair:
Law is the concern of lawyers.
5.
a matter that engages a person's attention, interest, or care, or that affects a person's welfare or happiness:
The party was no concern of his.
6.
worry, solicitude, or anxiety:
to show concern for someone in trouble.
7.
important relation or bearing:
This news is of concern to all of us.
8.
a commercial or manufacturing company or establishment:
the headquarters of an insurance concern.
9.
Informal. any material object or contrivance.
Origin
1375-1425; late Middle English concernen (< Middle French concerner) < Medieval Latin concernere to relate to, distinguish (Late Latin: to mix for sifting), equivalent to Latin con- con- + cernere to sift
Related forms
overconcern, noun, verb (used with object)
preconcern, noun, verb (used with object)
self-concern, noun
Synonyms
1. touch, involve. 3. disturb. 5. burden, responsibility. Concern, care, worry connote an uneasy and burdened state of mind. Concern implies an anxious sense of interest in something: concern over a friend's misfortune. Care suggests a heaviness of spirit caused by dread, or by the constant pressure of burdensome demands: Poverty weighs a person down with care. Worry is an active state of agitated uneasiness and restless apprehension: He was distracted by worry over the stock market. 8. firm, house.
Antonyms
6. indifference.
Examples from the web for concern
  • Our concern must be for a special interest group that has been too long neglected.
  • One concern is that the findings of brain science will undermine our notion of autonomy and individual responsibility.
  • It was so bad that the school librarian even called in my parents to express concern over my reading habits.
  • Addressing a topical concern, he disavowed any desire to found a dynasty, citing his childless state.
  • The particulars of his life in an uncongenial diplomatic exile need not concern us.
  • The truth of these doctrines does not for the moment concern us.
  • He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall.
  • The thought in his poetry is not his primary concern but the feeling.
  • To understand them, consider our concern with world population.
  • But, concern about the environment likely played a role as well.
British Dictionary definitions for concern

concern

/kənˈsɜːn/
verb (transitive)
1.
to relate to; be of importance or interest to; affect
2.
usually foll by with or in. to involve or interest (oneself): he concerns himself with other people's affairs
noun
3.
something that affects or is of importance to a person; affair; business
4.
regard for or interest in a person or a thing: he felt a strong concern for her
5.
anxiety, worry, or solicitude
6.
important bearing or relation: his news has great concern for us
7.
a commercial company or enterprise
8.
(informal) a material thing, esp one of which one has a low opinion
Word Origin
C15: from Late Latin concernere to mingle together, from Latin com- together + cernere to sift, distinguish
Word Origin and History for concern
v.

early 15c., "perceive, distinguish," also "refer to, relate to," from Middle French concerner, from Medieval Latin concernere "concern, touch, belong to," figurative use of Late Latin concernere "to sift, mix, as in a sieve," from Latin com- "with" (see com-) + cernere "to sift," hence "perceive, comprehend" (see crisis). Apparently the sense of the prefix shifted to intensive in Medieval Latin. Meaning "worry" is 17c. Related: Concerned; concerning. Letter opening to whom it may concern attested by 1740.

n.

1580s, from concern (v.).

Slang definitions & phrases for concern

concern

Related Terms

a going concern


Idioms and Phrases with concern

concern

see: