Anxious

/ˈæŋ(k)ʃəs/ · adjective

Meaning

Nervous and worried..

Definitions by Sense

1. Nervous and worried.
2. Having a feeling of anxiety or disquietude; extremely concerned, especially about something that will happen in the future or that is unknown.
3. (of things) Accompanied with, or causing, anxiety; worrying.
4. Earnestly desirous.

Example Sentences

She was anxious to hear how her test results were.

I could tell she was anxious as she was biting her nails.

Thanks to that penny he had just spent so recklessly [on a newspaper] he would pass a happy hour, taken, for once, out of his anxious, despondent, miserable self. It irritated him shrewdly to know that these moments of respite from carking care would not be shared with his poor wife, with careworn, troubled Ellen.

Meanwhile Nanny Broome was recovering from her initial panic and seemed anxious to make up for any kudos she might have lost, by exerting her personality to the utmost. She took the policeman's helmet and placed it on a chair, and unfolded his tunic to shake it and fold it up again for him.

But, with United fans in celebratory mood as it appeared their team might snatch glory, they faced an anxious wait as City equalised in stoppage time.

anxious labor

There was an anxious wait before the results were revealed.

The sweet of life, from which God hath bid dwell far off all anxious cares.

Synonyms for anxious

Antonyms for anxious

Related Words

Word Forms

• more anxious
• anxiouser
• most anxious
• anxiousest
• anctious

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

Practice and Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions