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anxious - 5 dictionary results
anx⋅ious
[angk-shuh
s, ang-] 
–adjective
| 1. | full of mental distress or uneasiness because of fear of danger or misfortune; greatly worried; solicitous: Her parents were anxious about her poor health. |
| 2. | earnestly desirous; eager (usually fol. by an infinitive or for): anxious to please; anxious for our happiness. |
| 3. | attended with or showing solicitude or uneasiness: anxious forebodings. |
Origin:
1615–25; < L anxius worried, distressed, deriv. of angere to strangle, pain, distress; cf. anguish, -ous
1615–25; < L anxius worried, distressed, deriv. of angere to strangle, pain, distress; cf. anguish, -ous
Related forms:
anx⋅ious⋅ly, adverb
anx⋅ious⋅ness, noun
Synonyms:
1. concerned, disturbed, apprehensive, fearful, uneasy.
1. concerned, disturbed, apprehensive, fearful, uneasy.
Antonyms:
1. calm, confident. 2. reluctant, hesitant.
1. calm, confident. 2. reluctant, hesitant.
Usage note:
The earliest sense of anxious (in the 17th century) was “troubled” or “worried”: We are still anxious for the safety of our dear sons in battle. Its meaning “earnestly desirous, eager” arose in the mid-18th century: We are anxious to see our new grandson. Some insist that anxious must always convey a sense of distress or worry and object to its use in the sense of “eager,” but such use is fully standard.
The earliest sense of anxious (in the 17th century) was “troubled” or “worried”: We are still anxious for the safety of our dear sons in battle. Its meaning “earnestly desirous, eager” arose in the mid-18th century: We are anxious to see our new grandson. Some insist that anxious must always convey a sense of distress or worry and object to its use in the sense of “eager,” but such use is fully standard.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To anxious
| anx·ious (āngk'shəs, āng'shəs) adj.
[From Latin ānxius, from angere, to torment; see angh- in Indo-European roots.] anx'ious·ly adv., anx'ious·ness n. Usage Note: Anxious has a long history of use roughly as a synonym for eager, but many prefer that anxious be used only when its subject is worried or uneasy about the anticipated event. In the traditional view, one may say We are anxious to see the strike settled soon but not We are anxious to see the new show of British sculpture at the museum. Fifty-two percent of the Usage Panel rejects anxious in the latter sentence. But general adoption of anxious to mean "eager" is understandable, at least in colloquial discourse, since it provides a means of adding emotional urgency to an assertion. It implies that the subject so strongly desires a certain outcome that frustration of that desire will lead to unhappiness. In this way, it resembles the informal adjective dying in sentences such as I'm dying to see your new baby. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Anxious
Anx"ious\ ([a^][ng]k"sh[u^]s), a. [L. anxius, fr. angere to cause pain, choke; akin to Gr. 'a`gchein to choke. See Anger.]1. Full of anxiety or disquietude; greatly concerned or solicitous, esp. respecting something future or unknown; being in painful suspense; -- applied to persons; as, anxious for the issue of a battle. 2. Accompanied with, or causing, anxiety; worrying; -- applied to things; as, anxious labor. The sweet of life, from which God hath bid dwell far off all anxious cares. --Milton. 3. Earnestly desirous; as, anxious to please. He sneers alike at those who are anxious to preserve and at those who are eager for reform. --Macaulay. Note: Anxious is followed by for, about, concerning, etc., before the object of solicitude. Syn: Solicitous; careful; uneasy; unquiet; restless; concerned; disturbed; watchful.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : anxious
Spanish:
ansioso, preocupado,
German:
besorgt,
Japanese:
心配して
anxious
1623, from L. anxius "solicitous, uneasy, troubled in mind," from ang(u)ere "choke, cause distress" (see anger). The same image is in S.Cr. tjeskoba "anxiety," lit. "tightness, narrowness."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: anx·ious
Pronunciation: 'a[ng](k)-sh&s
Function: adjective
1 : characterized by extreme uneasiness of mind or brooding fearabout some contingency
2 : characterized by, resulting from, or causing anxiety
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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