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trepidation - 5 dictionary results

trep⋅i⋅da⋅tion

  [trep-i-dey-shuhn]
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–noun
1. tremulous fear, alarm, or agitation; perturbation.
2. trembling or quivering movement; tremor.
Origin:
1595–1605; < L trepidātiōn- (s. of trepidātiō), equiv. to trepidāt(us) (ptp. of trepidāre to hurry, alarm; see trepid, -ate 1 ) + -iōn- -ion

Synonyms:
1. trembling, fright. 2. quivering, shaking.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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trep·i·da·tion   (trěp'ĭ-dā'shən)   
n.  
  1. A state of alarm or dread; apprehension. See Synonyms at fear.
  2. An involuntary trembling or quivering.

[Latin trepidātiō, trepidātiōn-, from trepidātus, past participle of trepidāre, to be in a state of confusion, from trepidus, anxious.]
trep'i·da'tious (-shəs) adj.
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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Trepidation

Trep`i*da"tion\, n. [F. tr['e]pidation, L. trepidatio, fr. trepidare to hurry with alarm, to tremble, from trepidus agitated, disturbed, alarmed; cf. trepit he turns, Gr. ? to turn, E. torture.]

1. An involuntary trembling, sometimes an effect of paralysis, but usually caused by terror or fear; quaking; quivering.

2. Hence, a state of terror or alarm; fear; confusion; fright; as, the men were in great trepidation.

3. (Anc. Astron.) A libration of the starry sphere in the Ptolemaic system; a motion ascribed to the firmament, to account for certain small changes in the position of the ecliptic and of the stars.

Syn: Tremor; agitation; disturbance; fear.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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trepidation 
1605, from L. trepidationem (nom. trepidatio) "agitation, alarm, trembling," noun of action from pp. stem of trepidare "to tremble, hurry," from trepidus "alarmed, scared," from PIE *trep- "to shake, tremble" (cf. Skt. trprah "hasty," O.C.S. trepetati "to tremble"), related to *trem- (see tremble).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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trepidation trep·i·da·tion (trěp'ĭ-dā'shən)
n.

  1. An involuntary trembling or quivering.
  2. A state of anxious fear; apprehension.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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