anxiety
noun
Simple meaning
An unpleasant state of mental uneasiness, nervousness, apprehension and obsession or concern about some uncertain event.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
angzyuhteeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
æŋˈzaɪəti
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
An unpleasant state of mental uneasiness, nervousness, apprehension and obsession or concern about some uncertain event.
informal
Any anxiety disorder, especially generalized anxiety disorder.
An uneasy or distressing desire (for something). Endeavor (to please).
pathology
A state of restlessness and agitation, often accompanied by a distressing sense of oppression or tightness in the stomach.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An unpleasant state of mental uneasiness, nervousness, apprehension and obsession or concern about some uncertain event.
Used this way, anxiety is a reasonably familiar word with a faintly unfavourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use anxiety
- “Feeling a little anxiety about the presentation tomorrow is completely normal.”
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A sudden acute episode of intense anxiety and feelings of panic.
A cover term for a variety of mental disorders in which severe anxiety is a salient symptom.
A form of hysteria having features of both conversion disorder and anxiety neurosis.
Characterized by diffuse anxiety and often somatic manifestations of fear.
An anxiety disorder characterized by chronic free-floating anxiety and such symptoms as tension or sweating or trembling or lightheadedness or irritability etc that has lasted for more than…
Anxiety resulting from real or imagined threats to your sexual functions.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
A tranquilizer used to relieve anxiety and reduce tension and irritability.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
- obsessivenoun
- depressionnoun
- ptsdnoun
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Keep learning “anxiety” by choosing the kind of practice you need next.
- Practice sentence writingWrite sentences with vocabulary and get instant feedback.
- Practice in contextAnswer short vocabulary questions drawn from real situations.
- Review vocabularyTest your recall and strengthen words over time.
- Practice typingType vocabulary in short rounds that draw from words you've learned and saved.
Want to type words like this one without looking at the keyboard? Each typing round draws from words you've learned, saved or need to review. Follow the free Learn to Type lessons and type your own vocabulary with confidence.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.