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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
wor·ry 
[wur-ee, wuhr-ee] Pronunciation Key verb, -ried, -ry·ing, noun, plural -ries.
—Related forms
[wur-ee, wuhr-ee] Pronunciation Key verb, -ried, -ry·ing, noun, plural -ries. –verb (used without object)
–verb (used with object)
–noun
—Verb phrase
| 1. | to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; fret. |
| 2. | to move with effort: an old car worrying uphill. |
| 3. | to torment with cares, anxieties, etc.; trouble; plague. |
| 4. | to seize, esp. by the throat, with the teeth and shake or mangle, as one animal does another. |
| 5. | to harass by repeated biting, snapping, etc. |
| 6. | a worried condition or feeling; uneasiness or anxiety. |
| 7. | a cause of uneasiness or anxiety; trouble. |
| 8. | act of worrying. |
| 9. | Fox Hunting. the action of the hounds in tearing to pieces the carcass of a fox. |
| 10. | worry along or through, Informal. to progress or succeed by constant effort, despite difficulty: to worry through an intolerable situation. |
[Origin: bef. 900; ME weryen, werwen, wyrwyn to strangle, bite, harass, OE wyrgan to strangle; c. G würgen]
] —Related forms
wor·ri·er, noun
wor·ri·less, adjective
wor·ry·ing·ly, adverb
—Synonyms 3. tease, harry, hector, badger, disquiet. Worry, annoy, harass all mean to disturb or interfere with someone's comfort or peace of mind. To worry is to cause anxiety, apprehension, or care: to worry one's parents. To annoy is to vex or irritate by continued repetition of interferences: to annoy the neighbors. Harass implies long-continued worry and annoyance: Cares of office harass a president. 6. apprehension, solicitude, disquiet, misgiving, fear. See concern.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| wor·ry
(wûr'ē, wŭr'ē) Pronunciation Key
v. wor·ried (wûr'ēd, wŭr'-), wor·ry·ing, wor·ries (wûr'ēz, wŭr'-) v. intr.
v. tr.
n. pl. wor·ries
[Middle English werien, worien, to strangle, from Old English wyrgan; see wer-2 in Indo-European roots.] wor'ri·er n. Word History: Worrying may shorten one's life, but not as quickly as it once did. The ancestor of our word, Old English wyrgan, meant "to strangle." Its Middle English descendant, worien, kept this sense and developed the new sense "to grasp by the throat with the teeth and lacerate" or "to kill or injure by biting and shaking." This is the way wolves or dogs might attack sheep, for example. In the 16th century worry began to be used in the sense "to harass, as by rough treatment or attack," or "to assault verbally," and in the 17th century the word took on the sense "to bother, distress, or persecute." It was a small step from this sense to the main modern senses "to cause to feel anxious or distressed" and "to feel troubled or uneasy," first recorded in the 19th century. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
worry (v.)
worry (v.)
O.E. wyrgan "to strangle," from W.Gmc. *wurgijanan (cf. M.Du. worghen, Du. worgen, O.H.G. wurgen, Ger. würgen "to strangle," O.N. virgill "rope"), from PIE *wergh- "to turn" (see wring). The oldest sense was obs. in Eng. after c.1600; meaning "annoy, bother, vex," first recorded 1671, developed from that of "harass by rough or severe treatment" (1553), as of dogs or wolves attacking sheep. Meaning "to cause mental distress or trouble" is attested from 1822; intrans. sense of "to feel anxiety or mental trouble" is first recorded 1860.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
worry (n.)
worry (n.)
1804, from worry (v.). Worrisome is first recorded 1845. Worry wart first recorded 1956, from comic strip "Out Our Way" by U.S. cartoonist J.R. Williams (1888-1957). According to those familiar with the strip, Worry Wart was the name of a character who caused others to worry, which is the inverse of the current colloq. meaning.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| worry | |
noun | |
| 1. | something or someone that causes anxiety; a source of unhappiness; "New York traffic is a constant concern"; "it's a major worry" [syn: concern] |
| 2. | a strong feeling of anxiety; "his worry over the prospect of being fired"; "it is not work but worry that kills"; "he wanted to die and end his troubles" |
verb | |
| 1. | be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy; "I worry about my job" |
| 2. | be concerned with; "I worry about my grades" |
| 3. | disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress; "I cannot sleep--my daughter's health is worrying me" [ant: assure] |
| 4. | be on the mind of; "I worry about the second Germanic consonant shift" [syn: concern] |
| 5. | lacerate by biting; "the dog worried his bone" |
| 6. | touch or rub constantly; "The old man worried his beads" |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Worry
Wor"ry\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Worried; p. pr. & vb. n. Worrying.] [OE. worowen, wirien, to strangle, AS. wyrgan in [=a]wyrgan; akin to D. worgen, wurgen, to strangle, OHG. wurgen, G. w["u]rgen, Lith. verszti, and perhaps to E. wring.]1. To harass by pursuit and barking; to attack repeatedly; also, to tear or mangle with the teeth. A hellhound that doth hunt us all to death; That dog that had his teeth before his eyes, To worry lambs and lap their gentle blood. --Shak. 2. To harass or beset with importunity, or with care an anxiety; to vex; to annoy; to torment; to tease; to fret; to trouble; to plague. "A church worried with reformation." --South. Let them rail, And worry one another at their pleasure. --Rowe. Worry him out till he gives consent. --Swift. 3. To harass with labor; to fatigue. [Colloq.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Worry
Wor"ry\, v. i. To feel or express undue care and anxiety; to manifest disquietude or pain; to be fretful; to chafe; as, the child worries; the horse worries.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Worry
Wor"ry\, n.; pl. Worries. A state of undue solicitude; a state of disturbance from care and anxiety; vexation; anxiety; fret; as, to be in a worry. "The whir and worry of spindle and of loom." --Sir T. Browne.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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