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apprehension - 4 dictionary results

ap⋅pre⋅hen⋅sion

  [ap-ri-hen-shuhn]
Use apprehension in a Sentence
–noun
1. anticipation of adversity or misfortune; suspicion or fear of future trouble or evil.
2. the faculty or act of apprehending, esp. intuitive understanding; perception on a direct and immediate level.
3. acceptance of or receptivity to information without passing judgment on its validity, often without complete comprehension.
4. a view, opinion, or idea on any subject.
5. the act of arresting; seizure.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME (< OF) < LL apprehēnsiōn- (s. of apprehēnsiō), equiv. to apprehens- (see apprehensible ) + -iōn- -ion

Synonyms:
1. alarm, worry, uneasiness; suspicion. Apprehension, anxiety, misgiving imply an unsettled and uneasy state of mind. Apprehension is an active state of fear, usually of some danger or misfortune: apprehension before opening a telegram. Anxiety is a somewhat prolonged state of apprehensive worry: anxiety because of a reduced income. Misgiving implies a dubious uncertainty or suspicion, as well as uneasiness: to have misgivings about the investment. 5. capture.

Antonyms:
1. composure, tranquillity. 5. release.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To apprehension
ap·pre·hen·sion   (āp'rĭ-hěn'shən)   
n.  
  1. Fearful or uneasy anticipation of the future; dread.
  2. The act of seizing or capturing; arrest.
  3. The ability to apprehend or understand; understanding.

[Middle English apprehencioun, perception, from Old French apprehension, from Late Latin apprehēnsiō, apprehēnsiōn-, from Latin apprehēnsus, past participle of apprehendere, to seize; see apprehend.]
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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Apprehension

Ap`pre*hen"sion\, n. [L. apprehensio: cf. F. appr['e]hension. See Apprehend.]

1. The act of seizing or taking hold of; seizure; as, the hand is an organ of apprehension. --Sir T. Browne.

2. The act of seizing or taking by legal process; arrest; as, the felon, after his apprehension, escaped.

3. The act of grasping with the intellect; the contemplation of things, without affirming, denying, or passing any judgment; intellection; perception.

Simple apprehension denotes no more than the soul's naked intellection of an object. --Glanvill.

4. Opinion; conception; sentiment; idea.

Note: In this sense, the word often denotes a belief, founded on sufficient evidence to give preponderation to the mind, but insufficient to induce certainty; as, in our apprehension, the facts prove the issue.

To false, and to be thought false, is all one in respect of men, who act not according to truth, but apprehension. --South.

5. The faculty by which ideas are conceived; understanding; as, a man of dull apprehension.

6. Anticipation, mostly of things unfavorable; distrust or fear at the prospect of future evil.

After the death of his nephew Caligula, Claudius was in no small apprehension for his own life. --Addison.

Syn: Apprehension, Alarm.

Usage: Apprehension springs from a sense of danger when somewhat remote, but approaching; alarm arises from danger when announced as near at hand. Apprehension is calmer and more permanent; alarm is more agitating and transient.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : apprehension
Spanish: aprensión,
German: die Besorgnis,
Japanese: 不安
More Translations »

Main Entry: ap·pre·hen·sion
Pronunciation: "a-pri-'hen-ch&n
Function: noun
: ARREST
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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