worry

A2 Topic:Emotions & Feelings

Also spelled worrit

US /ˈwɝ.i/ UK /ˈwʌ.ɹi/ See IPA manual

Freq #354

Meanings

1

verb
To feel anxious or uneasy about something that might happen.

I worry about my job.
2

noun
A feeling of anxiety, or something that causes it.

My worry about being fired started to stress me out.
3

verb
To make someone feel anxious or upset.

Your tone of voice worries me.
4

verb
(Of a dog or wolf) to seize and shake an animal by the throat.

Your dog's been worrying sheep again.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to feel anxious or uneasy... fret stress fuss

2 noun · a feeling of anxiety, or... trouble concern

3 verb · to make someone feel... concern trouble

Word family

Forms worries

Derived forms beworryworried worrisomeworry-freeworry-wartworryfulworryless

From Middle English worien, werien, wirien, wirwen, wyryȝen (“to choke, strangle”), from Old English wyrġan, from Proto-Germanic *wurgijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *werǵʰ- (“bind, squeeze”). Cognate with Dutch worgen, wurgen, German würgen. Compare Latin urgere (“to press, push”), Sanskrit वृहति (vṛhati, “to tear out, pluck”), Lithuanian ver̃žti (“to string; squeeze”), Russian (poetic) отверза́ть (otverzátʹ, “to open”, literally “to untie”). Related to wring.

worien Middle English wyrġan Old English *wurgijaną Proto-Germanic *werǵʰ- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings Animals

External links

# worry

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈwɝ.i/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈwʌ.ɹi/
**Frequency rank:** 354

## Meanings
1. To feel anxious or uneasy about something that might happen.
2. A feeling of anxiety, or something that causes it.
3. To make someone feel anxious or upset.
4. (Of a dog or wolf) to seize and shake an animal by the throat.

## Examples
- I worry about my job.
- My worry about being fired started to stress me out.
- Your tone of voice worries me.
- Your dog's been worrying sheep again.

## Derived Forms
- beworry
- worried
- worrisome
- worry-free
- worry-wart
- worryful
- worryless

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: worien
- Root: wyrġan
- Root: *wurgijaną
- Root: *werǵʰ-

## Etymology
From Middle English worien, werien, wirien, wirwen, wyryȝen (“to choke, strangle”), from Old English wyrġan, from Proto-Germanic *wurgijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *werǵʰ- (“bind, squeeze”). Cognate with Dutch worgen, wurgen, German würgen. Compare Latin urgere (“to press, push”), Sanskrit वृहति (vṛhati, “to tear out, pluck”), Lithuanian ver̃žti (“to string; squeeze”), Russian (poetic) отверза́ть (otverzátʹ, “to open”, literally “to untie”). Related to wring.

## AI Etymology
Worry is from Middle English worien, werien, wirien, wirwen, wyryȝen (“to choke, strangle”), from Old English wyrġan, from Proto-Germanic *wurgijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *werǵʰ- (“bind, squeeze”). Cognate with Dutch worgen, wurgen, German würgen. Compare Latin urgere (“to press, push”), Sanskrit वृहति (vṛhati, “to tear out, pluck”), Lithuanian ver̃žti (“to string; squeeze”), Russian (poetic) отверза́ть (otverzátʹ, “to open”, literally “to untie”). Related to wring. In present-day use, it can mean to feel anxious or uneasy about something that might happen, or a feeling of anxiety, or something that causes it.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings
- Animals

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worry

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