anxiety

English

Alternative forms

• anxietie

Etymology

From Latin anxietās, from anxius (“anxious, solicitous, distressed, troubled”), from angō (“to distress, trouble”), akin to Ancient Greek ἄγχω (ánkhō, “to choke”). Equivalent to anxious +‎ -ety. See anger; angst.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌæŋ(ɡ)ˈzaɪ.ə.ti/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪɪti

Noun

anxiety (countable and uncountable, plural anxieties)

1. An unpleasant state of mental uneasiness, nervousness, apprehension and obsession or concern about some uncertain event.
   • 1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 4, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC:

     The inquest on keeper Davidson was duly held, and at the commencement seemed likely to cause Tony Palliser less anxiety than he had expected.

   • 2005, Plato, translated by Lesley Brown, Sophist, page 268a:

     But the other, because he's been immersed in arguments, gives the appearance of harbouring considerable anxiety and suspicion that he's ignorant of those matters he presents himself to others as an expert on.

2. An uneasy or distressing desire (for something).
3. (pathology) A state of restlessness and agitation, often accompanied by a distressing sense of oppression or tightness in the stomach.

Synonyms

• care, solicitude, foreboding, uneasiness, perplexity, disquietude, disquiet, trouble, apprehension, restlessness, distress

Derived terms

• antianxiety
• anxietist
• anxietize
• anxietous
• anxiety disorder
• anxiety neurosis
• approach anxiety
• castration anxiety
• climate anxiety
• ecoanxiety
• eco-anxiety
• generalized anxiety disorder
• hangxiety
• hyperanxiety
• nonanxiety
• overanxiety
• performance anxiety
• range anxiety
• ringxiety
• scanxiety
• separation anxiety
• separation anxiety disorder
• social anxiety
• social anxiety disorder

 

Related terms

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂enǵʰ- (0 c, 11 e)

Translations

concern

• Arabic: قَلَق (ar) m (qalaq)
• Armenian: տագնապ (hy) (tagnap)
• Azerbaijani: təşviş (az), təlaş, əndişə, iztirab (az), həyəcan (az)
• Belarusian: неспако́й m (njespakój), трыво́га f (tryvóha)
• Bengali: দুশ্চিন্তা (bn) (duścinta)
• Bulgarian: трево́га (bg) f (trevóga), безпоко́йство (bg) n (bezpokójstvo), гри́жа (bg) f (gríža)
• Catalan: ansietat (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 焦慮／焦虑 (zh) (jiāolǜ), 担心 (zh) (dānxīn)

• Czech: úzkost (cs) f, starost (cs) f
• Danish: angst (da) c
• Dutch: bezorgdheid (nl) f, ongerustheid (nl) f
• Esperanto: anksio
• Estonian: rahutus, ängistus
• Finnish: ahdistus (fi), huoli (fi), levottomuus (fi), huolestuneisuus (fi)
• French: anxiété (fr) f, inquiétude (fr) f
• Galician: ansiedade (gl) f, trogo m
• Georgian: შფოთვა (špotva), მღელვარება (mɣelvareba), შეშფოთება (šešpoteba), შიში (šiši)
• German: Besorgnis (de) f, Angst (de) f, Sorge (de) f
• Greek: άγχος (el) n (ánchos), έγνοια (el) f (égnoia), ανησυχία (el) f (anisychía)

  Ancient: μέριμνα f (mérimna)

• Hebrew: חרדה (he) f (charadá)
• Hindi: चिंता (cintā), परेशानी (hi) f (pareśānī)
• Hungarian: aggodalom (hu)
• Icelandic: kvíði (is) m, órói (is) m, áhyggja (is) f
• Indonesian: kecemasan (id)
• Irish: imní f, sníomh m
• Italian: ansia (it) f, ansietà (it) f
• Japanese: 心配 (ja) (しんぱい, shinpai)
• Khmer: កង្វល់ (km) (kɑngvɑl)
• Korean: 걱정 (ko) (geokjeong)
• Latin: metus m, anxietās (la) f, sollicitudo f
• Macedonian: грижа f (griža), тревога f (trevoga)
• Magahi: 𑂃𑂢𑂵𑂮𑂰 (anesā), 𑂠𑂢𑂹𑂠 (dand), 𑂤𑂱𑂍𑂱𑂩 (phikir), 𑂒𑂱𑂢𑂹𑂞𑂰 (cintā)
• Maori: māihi, enga, mānukanuka
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Old English: angsumnes f
• Ottoman Turkish: اضطراب (ıztırâb), قلق (kalak)
• Persian: نگرانی (fa) (negarâni)
• Polish: niepokój (pl), trwoga (pl) f
• Portuguese: angústia (pt) f, ansiedade (pt) f
• Romanian: anxietate (ro) f
• Russian: беспоко́йство (ru) n (bespokójstvo), трево́га (ru) f (trevóga)
• Sanskrit: अंहु (sa) n (aṃhu)
• Scottish Gaelic: iomagain f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: стрепња f

  Roman: strepnja (sh) f

• Slovak: úzkosť f, starosť f
• Spanish: zozobra (es) f, ansiedad (es) f
• Swedish: ängslan (sv) c, farhåga (sv) c, oro (sv) c
• Tagalog: pagkabalisa
• Tarifit: amnus m
• Thai: ความวิตกกังวล
• Turkish: kaygı (tr), endişe (tr)
• Ukrainian: занепоко́єння n (zanepokójennja), триво́га f (tryvóha), неспокі́й m (nespokíj)
• Urdu: چںتا (cintā)
• Vietnamese: sự lo lắng, lo âu (vi)
• Welsh: gorbryder m, pryder (cy) m

uneasy or distressing desire

• Bulgarian: си́лно жела́ние n (sílno želánie)
• Catalan: ansietat (ca) f
• Czech: nedočkavost f
• Danish: iver
• Dutch: verlangen (nl)
• Finnish: kiihkeä halu, hinku (fi)
• Galician: trogo m, degoro (gl) m, xusgo m, prango m
• Greek: επιθυμία (el) f (epithymía)
• Italian: ansia (it) f, bramosia (it) f
• Korean: 열망 (ko) (yeolmang)
• Latin: metus
• Magahi: 𑂃𑂍𑂳𑂪𑂰𑂯𑂗 (akulāhaṭ)
• Portuguese: anseio (pt) m
• Russian: (стра́стное) жела́ние n ((strástnoje) želánije), (си́льное) жела́ние n ((sílʹnoje) želánije)
• Scottish Gaelic: iomagain f
• Spanish: inquietud (es) f
• Swedish: iver (sv) c
• Tagalog: alip-ip
• Tocharian B: īwate
• Turkish: heves (tr)

pathological condition

• Arabic: قَلَق (ar) m (qalaq), اِضْطِرَاب الْقَلَق (ar) m (iḍṭirāb al-qalaq)
• Armenian: տագնապ (hy) (tagnap), տագնապայնություն (hy) (tagnapaynutʻyun)
• Bengali: এজতেরাব (ejterab)
• Catalan: ansietat (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: úzkost (cs) f
• Danish: angst (da) c
• Dutch: angst (nl), vrees (nl)
• Esperanto: anksio, angoro (eo)
• Finnish: ahdistuneisuushäiriö (fi), ahdistus (fi)
• French: anxiété (fr), angoisse (fr)
• Galician: ansiedade (gl) f
• Georgian: შფოთვა (špotva)
• German: Angst (de) f
• Greek: άγχος (el) n (ánchos)
• Hebrew: חרדה (he) f (charadá)
• Hungarian: szorongás (hu)
• Icelandic: angist (is) f, kvíði (is) m
• Indonesian: ansietas, kecemasan (id)
• Italian: ansia (it) f
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Khmer: ជំងឺថប់បារម្ភ (cumngɨɨ tʰɑp baarɑm)
• Korean: 불안 (ko) (buran)
• Latin: metus
• Latvian: baisma
• Macedonian: анксиозност f (anksioznost)
• Malay: keresahan
• Maori: māihi
• Norwegian: angst (no)
• Persian: پریشانی (fa) (parišâni)
• Polish: lęk (pl) m
• Portuguese: ansiedade (pt) f
• Romanian: anxietate (ro) f, teamă (ro) f
• Russian: страх (ru) m (strax), боя́знь (ru) f (bojáznʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: iomagain f
• Serbo-Croatian: anksioznost (sh) f, tjeskoba (sh) f
• Slovene: tesnoba f
• Spanish: ansiedad (es)
• Swedish: ångest (sv) c
• Thai: ความวิตกกังวล
• Turkish: anksiyete (tr), endişe (tr)
• Urdu: بے چَینی f (be cainī)
• Vietnamese: lo âu (vi)
• Welsh: gorbryder m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Georgian: ^{(please verify)} წუხილი (c̣uxili)
• Slovene: ^{(please verify)} tesnoba f

Further reading

• “anxiety”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “anxiety”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.