angst

[ ahngkst, angst ]
See synonyms for angst on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a feeling of dread, anxiety, or anguish.

Origin of angst

1
First recorded in 1840–50; from German Angst “fear, anxiety,” Old High German angust (cognate with Middle Low German angest, Middle Dutch anxt ), from ang- (akin to eng “narrow, constricted”) + -st, abstract noun suffix

Other words from angst

  • angsty, adjective, angst·i·er, angst·i·est.

Words Nearby angst

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How to use angst in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for angst

angst

/ (æŋst, German aŋst) /


noun
  1. an acute but nonspecific sense of anxiety or remorse

  2. (in Existentialist philosophy) the dread caused by man's awareness that his future is not determined but must be freely chosen

Origin of angst

1
German

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for angst

angst

[ (ahngkst) ]


A kind of fear or anxiety; Angst is German for “fear.” It is usually applied to a deep and essentially philosophical anxiety about the world in general or personal freedom. (See existentialism.)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.