misgiving

English

Noun

misgiving (plural misgivings)

1. doubt, apprehension, a feeling of dread
   • 1846-1848, Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son:

     He could think of her being there, without a lurking misgiving that it would have been better if she had not come.

   • 1900, Theodore Dreiser, Sister Carrie:

     In the night, or the gloomy chambers of the day, fears and misgivings wax strong, but out in the sunlight there is, for a time, cessation even of the terror of death.

Usage notes

Almost always used in the plural.

Synonyms

• doubt

External links

• misgiving in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• misgiving in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911