anxiety
In most cases, 'anxiety' is used as an uncountable noun when describing a general feeling of worry (e.g., "too much anxiety"). When referring to specific types or clinical conditions, it can be treated as a countable noun (e.g., "she suffers from various anxieties"). Be careful with the third meaning: 'anxiety' does not always mean fear. When followed by "to" or "for," it often describes a strong, eager desire to achieve something.
💬Casual Conversation
🎬Tuesday afternoon, Karen is frantically organizing the school bake sale while Eleanor is at home.
Karen Smith
If you show up late again it'll give me a total anxiety attack.
Eleanor Smith
STOP FRETTING. I AM JUST GETTING GAS.
💡
Karen uses the common collocation 'anxiety attack' to express her stress, while Eleanor uses the phrasal verb 'fretting' (meaning worrying unnecessarily) and typical all-caps typing to show her technological ineptitude and dismissive attitude toward Karen's neuroticism.
Meanings
noun
A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.
"She felt a surge of anxiety as she waited for the exam results."