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ANXIETY
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A vague unpleasant emotion that is experienced in anticipation of some (usually ill-defined) misfortune
Classified under:
Nouns denoting feelings and emotions
Hypernyms ("anxiety" is a kind of...):
emotion (any strong feeling)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "anxiety"):
discomfiture; discomposure; disconcertion; disconcertment (anxious embarrassment)
trouble; worry (a strong feeling of anxiety)
care; concern; fear (an anxious feeling)
anxiousness; disquiet (a feeling of mild anxiety about possible developments)
insecurity (the anxiety you experience when you feel vulnerable and insecure)
disquietude; edginess; inquietude; uneasiness (feelings of anxiety that make you tense and irritable)
sinking; sinking feeling (a feeling caused by uneasiness or apprehension)
misgiving; qualm; scruple (uneasiness about the fitness of an action)
jitteriness; jumpiness; nervousness; restiveness (the anxious feeling you have when you have the jitters)
angst (an acute but unspecific feeling of anxiety; usually reserved for philosophical anxiety about the world or about personal freedom)
Sense 2
Meaning:
(psychiatry) a relatively permanent state of worry and nervousness occurring in a variety of mental disorders, usually accompanied by compulsive behavior or attacks of panic
Synonyms:
anxiety; anxiousness
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("anxiety" is a kind of...):
mental condition; mental state; psychological condition; psychological state ((psychology) a mental condition in which the qualities of a state are relatively constant even though the state itself may be dynamic)
Domain category:
psychiatry; psychological medicine; psychopathology (the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "anxiety"):
castration anxiety ((psychoanalysis) anxiety resulting from real or imagined threats to your sexual functions; originally applied only to men but can in principle apply to women)
hypochondria; hypochondriasis (chronic and abnormal anxiety about imaginary symptoms and ailments)
overanxiety (excessive anxiety)
panic; scare (sudden mass fear and anxiety over anticipated events)
Context examples:
These types of humour have consistently been linked to indicators of positive psychological well-being such as happiness, satisfaction with life, hope, etc. but also to more negative states such as depression and anxiety.
(Self-defeating humour promotes psychological well-being, University of Granada)
These include: previous experience of miscarriage, depression or anxiety, a mother’s relationship with her own parents, or cultures in which focusing on the baby is considered inappropriate.
(Mother’s attitude towards baby during pregnancy may have implications for child’s development, University of Cambridge)
For years, scientists thought that these powerful sedatives, which are used to treat anxiety, muscle spasms, and sleeping disorders, worked alone to calm nerves.
(‘Sticky’ gene may help Valium calm nerves, National Institutes of Health)
Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by unexpected, repeated episodes of intense fear.
(The Mechanism of Panic Attacks, NIH, US)
While women are at a lower risk of depression than men in deprived areas, other research shows that they are more likely to experience anxiety.
(Depression - men far more at risk than women in deprived areas, University of Cambridge)
Based on the children's self-reports of pain and anxiety, there were no significant differences between the vibrating cold device (VCD) group and the lidocaine group.
(Better IV Insertion Device, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
I was in a flutter of pride and anxiety; pride in my dear little betrothed, and anxiety that Agnes should like her.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
His anxiety for Jane was evident, and his attentions to herself most pleasing, and they prevented her feeling herself so much an intruder as she believed she was considered by the others.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
But, at two in the morning, his anxiety drove him out to the cold front stoop, where he crouched, and waited.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
Yes, Jo was a very happy woman there, in spite of hard work, much anxiety, and a perpetual racket.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
