anxious

A2 Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /ˈæŋ(k).ʃəs/ UK /ˈæŋ(k)ʃəs/ See IPA manual

Freq #3956

Meanings

1

adj
Feeling worried or nervous about something that might happen.

She was anxious about her test results.
2

adj
Causing worry or nervousness.

They spent an anxious night waiting for news from the hospital.
3

adj
Very eager and keen to do something.

He is anxious to please, so you can count on him.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · feeling worried or nervous... concerned uneasy worrisome

2 adj · causing worry or nervousness. uneasynerve-wracking

3 adj · very eager and keen to do... solicitous

Word family

Derived forms anxiously anxiousnessanxomhyperanxioushypoanxiousnonanxiousoveranxiousunanxiousunderanxious

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

anxious wait
a period of nervous, worried waiting

Adjective + noun

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂enǵʰ-der. Proto-Italic *anɣō Latin angō Latin ānxiusbor. English anxious Borrowed from Latin anxius, from angō (“to cause pain, choke”); akin to Ancient Greek ἄγχω (ánkhō, “to choke”). See anger; angst.

*h₂enǵʰ- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings

External links

# anxious

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈæŋ(k).ʃəs/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈæŋ(k)ʃəs/
**Frequency rank:** 3956

## Meanings
1. Feeling worried or nervous about something that might happen.
2. Causing worry or nervousness.
3. Very eager and keen to do something.

## Examples
- She was anxious about her test results.
- They spent an anxious night waiting for news from the hospital.
- He is anxious to please, so you can count on him.

## Derived Forms
- anxiously
- anxiousness
- anxom
- hyperanxious
- hypoanxious
- nonanxious
- overanxious
- unanxious
- underanxious

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *h₂enǵʰ-
- Affix: -ious - full of

## Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂enǵʰ-der. Proto-Italic *anɣō Latin angō Latin ānxiusbor. English anxious Borrowed from Latin anxius, from angō (“to cause pain, choke”); akin to Ancient Greek ἄγχω (ánkhō, “to choke”). See anger; angst.

## AI Etymology
Anxious is borrowed from Latin anxius, from angō (“to cause pain, choke”); akin to Ancient Greek ἄγχω (ánkhō, “to choke”). Compare anger; angst. The historical line also includes Proto-Indo-European *h₂enǵʰ-.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings

markdown