anxiety

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: B1 — Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun (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
  2. noun a vague unpleasant emotion that is experienced in anticipation of some (usually ill-defined) misfortune

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin anxietās, from anxius (“anxious, solicitous, distressed, troubled”), from angō (“to distress, trouble”), akin to Ancient Greek ἄγχω (ánkhō, “to choke”). Equivalent to anxious + -ety. See anger; angst.

In classic literature

Synonyms

anxiousness

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