angst

US /ˈæŋ(k)st/ See IPA manual

Freq #26821

Meanings

1

noun
A deep feeling of anxiety, worry, or emotional turmoil.

The novel captures the angst of growing up in a divided city.

Thesaurus

Word family

Derived forms angst-riddenangstbunnyangsterangstficangstfulangstlessangstyeco-angstmulderangstscullyangsttechnoangstwangst

Simplified etymology

Angst was borrowed into English in the early 20th century from German Angst, meaning “fear.”

Etymology

Borrowed from German Angst or Danish angst; attested since the 19th century in English translations of the works of Søren Kierkegaard. Initially capitalized (as in German and contemporaneous Danish), the term first began to be written with a lowercase "a" around 1940–44. The German and Danish terms both derive from Middle High German angest, from Old High German angust, from Proto-Germanic *angustiz; Dutch angst is cognate. Compare Swedish ångest.

*h₂enǵʰ- Proto-Indo-European angst da angest gmh angust goh *angustiz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings

External links

# angst

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈæŋ(k)st/
**Frequency rank:** 26821

## Meanings
1. A deep feeling of anxiety, worry, or emotional turmoil.

## Examples
- The novel captures the angst of growing up in a divided city.

## Derived Forms
- angst-ridden
- angstbunny
- angster
- angstfic
- angstful
- angstless
- angsty
- eco-angst
- mulderangst
- scullyangst
- technoangst
- wangst

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *h₂enǵʰ-
- Root: angst
- Root: angest
- Root: angust
- Root: *angustiz

## Etymology
Borrowed from German Angst or Danish angst; attested since the 19th century in English translations of the works of Søren Kierkegaard. Initially capitalized (as in German and contemporaneous Danish), the term first began to be written with a lowercase "a" around 1940–44. The German and Danish terms both derive from Middle High German angest, from Old High German angust, from Proto-Germanic *angustiz; Dutch angst is cognate. Compare Swedish ångest.

## AI Etymology
Angst is borrowed from German Angst or Danish angst; attested since the 19th century in English translations of the works of Søren Kierkegaard. Initially capitalized (as in German and contemporaneous Danish), the term first began to be written with a lowercase "a" around 1940–44. The German and Danish terms both derive from Middle High German angest, from Old High German angust, from Proto-Germanic *angustiz; Dutch angst is cognate. Compare Swedish ångest. Important recorded forms include *h₂enǵʰ- (Proto-Indo-European), angst (da), angest (gmh), angust (goh), and *angustiz (Proto-Germanic). Current senses include a deep feeling of anxiety, worry, or emotional turmoil. The wider family includes derived forms such as angst-ridden, angstbunny, angster, angstfic, and angstful.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings

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