ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Trepidation

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /ˌtɹɛp.ɪˈdeɪ.ʃən/ · Part of speech noun

Quick meaning: Trepidation is a noun meaning Anxiety over the uncertain future or possible ill-occurrence.

Meaning

Anxiety over the uncertain future or possible ill-occurrence.

More Meanings

  1. An involuntary trembling, sometimes an effect of paralysis, but usually caused by terror or fear.
  2. (astronomy, obsolete) 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.

Example Sentences

When I went, I left from the station / With a haversack and some trepidation
I decided, with considerable trepidation, to let him drive my car without me.
She opened the drawing-room door in trepidation. Would she find Esther drowned with her head in the goldfish bowl, or hanged from the chandelier by her stay-lace?
She reached it soon after half-past two. She found its gloomy nineteenth-century façade, black with the smuts of ninety years, a little daunting, and mounted its broad steps in some trepidation. But she rang the bell hard and knocked firmly.

Word Forms

Synonyms for trepidation

Depending on context, synonyms include agitation, apprehension, consternation, fear, hesitation, worry.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include uneasiness, fear, unease, disquiet, worry, distress.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.