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anxiety

[C/U] Both
pl: anxieties

This word carries a heavy emotional weight, shifting between a clinical pathology and a common human reaction. It describes a state of internal friction where the mind is preoccupied with a perceived future threat or an unresolved tension. It is often felt as a physical tightness in the chest or a racing heart, making it more visceral than simple worry. Interestingly, the term can pivot from a negative state of dread to a positive state of intense eagerness. When used to describe a desire to achieve something, it suggests a restless energy and a driving force that pushes a person toward a goal, though it still retains a sense of nervous tension.

Uncountable when referring to the general emotional state of being worried. Countable when referring to specific instances or diagnosed medical conditions like social anxieties.

💬Conversación Casual

🎬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.

Karen Smith
Eleanor Smith
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
[someone][something]

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."

Last Updated: May 26, 2026Report an Error