anxiousanx‧ious /ˈæŋkʃəs/ ●●○ S3 W3 adjective 
He was a bit anxious about the safety of the machinery.anxious for We were anxious for you.anxious (that) She was anxious that it might be cancer.an anxious look/expression She gave me an anxious look.► see thesaurus at worriedGRAMMAR: Prepositions with anxious• You are anxious about something: · She is anxious about the interview. ✗Don’t say: She is anxious for the interview.• You are anxious for another person (=worried that something bad might have happened to them): · They are anxious for their son.2an anxious time or situation is one in which you feel nervous or worried SYN worrying: We had an anxious couple of weeks waiting for the test results. There was an anxious moment when the plane suddenly dropped.3feeling strongly that you want to do something or want something to happen SYN keenanxious to do something The company is anxious to improve its image. He seemed most anxious to speak to me alone. The president is anxious not to have another crisis.anxious for somebody to do something Why was she so anxious for me to stay?anxious for We were all anxious for news.anxious (that) Both sides were anxious that the agreement should be signed as quickly as possible.—anxiously adverb: She waited anxiously by the phone.
WORD ORIGINanxious
Origin:
1600-1700 Latin anxiusEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- "Please come with me," she said in an anxious voice.
- anxious employees
- Anxious relatives waited at the airport for news of the plane crash.
- After an anxious wait, Audrey was told her father had died.
- an anxious glance
- For one anxious moment, I thought the rope was going to break.
- Gail was feeling anxious and depressed.
- Helen is always anxious about travelling alone.
- In the anxious days that followed, Henry tried to keep his mind off his results.
- Mae cast an anxious look in his direction.
- She knew it was a simple operation, but she still felt anxious.
- There were a few anxious moments for Morgan near the end of the match.
- When you become anxious about sleeplessness, you actually make the problem worse.
- After a long and anxious spell, she recovered.
- And, indeed, she was more than anxious to do what she could to help look after the twins.
- But he's just a bit anxious because you have never flown before.
- But Roy had thrown away his script, and he spent an anxious plane journey trying to remember his lines.
- Her long and anxious wait for breakfast had caused her so much stress, that she had developed colic and died.
- Some one with early stages of brain failure can be very aware of it, and anxious about what is happening to him/her.
- Some parents found social work visits made them fearful and anxious and their self-esteem was reduced.
- That flexibility itself is generally associated with more harmonious households and less anxious child-rearing.
THESAURUS
not feeling happy or relaxed because you keep thinking about a problem or something bad that might happen: · I was worried that you had forgotten our date.· It’s awful if you are worried about money.· I was so worried that I couldn’t sleep at all.
worried because you think something bad might happen or has happened. Anxious is more formal than worried, and is often used about a general feeling of worry, when you are not sure what has happened: · A lot of employees are anxious about their jobs.· Anxious relatives waited for news.
worried or frightened about something you are going to do or experience, and unable to relax: · Everyone feels nervous before an exam.· The thought of going into hospital was making me nervous.
a little worried because you feel there may be something wrong and you are not sure what is going to happen: · When she still wasn’t home by midnight, I began to feel uneasy.· The total silence was making me feel uneasy.
formal worried, usually about a problem affecting someone else or affecting the country or the world: · Many people are concerned about the current economic situation.· Police say that they are concerned for the safety of the missing girl.
[not before noun] worried by something that happens – often used in negative sentences: · She didn’t seem particularly bothered by the news.
very worried, so that you think about something a lot: · She fell into a troubled sleep.· a troubled expression· ‘Are you okay, Ben? You look troubled.’
especially written a little worried about something you are going to do, or about the future, because you are not sure what it will be like: · I felt a bit apprehensive about seeing him again after so long.
informal very worried and tired because of problems, too much work etc, and unable to relax or enjoy life: · He’d been working ten hours a day for ages and was stressed out.· an extremely stressed single mother
Longman Language Activatorto want something very much to want something to happen, when it is unlikely or impossible that it will happen, or when you cannot control what will happen: wish (that): · I wish I had a car like that.· Beth wished she could stay there forever.wish somebody/something would do something: · I wish they would turn that music down.
especially spoken to want something very much, and feel that you would be happy if you had it: · I would love a cup of coffee.would love to do something: · She would love to have children, but she hasn't met the right man.· "Would you like to go on a Caribbean cruise?" "I'd love to!" would love somebody to do something: · My mother would love me to come and live in New York with her.
if you say that you would do anything , would give anything or would give your right arm , you mean you very much want to have something or do something, especially something that is impossible to get or do: would do anything/would give anything/would give your right arm for: · I would do anything for a drink right now!· I would give anything for a look at that file.would do anything/would give anything/would give your right arm to do something: · When she first started writing, she would have done anything to get an article printed.· I'd give my right arm to be 21 again.
also be keen to do something British to want to do something very much, especially because you think it will be interesting or enjoyable or it will help other people: · He's really keen to meet you.· I was eager to get my hands on these rare recordings.· Donna is very eager to prove her worth to the group.be keen for somebody to do something: · My parents were keen for me to be independent, and let me have a lot of freedom.
to want very much to do or achieve something, so that you make a great effort: · Miles was anxious to gain his boss's approval, and was always the last to leave the office in the evening.· A newly-arrived executive is usually anxious to make his mark in a new firm.be anxious for somebody/something to do something: · After the war, the government was anxious for the tourist industry to be revived.
to want something very much, and feel that you must have it or do it immediately: be dying to do something: · I'm dying to meet Lisa's new boyfriend.be dying for: · I'm dying for a drink - let's go to a bar.
especially British to want or need something so much that you will be very unhappy or disappointed if you do not get it: · I could see that they were desperate and needed help.be desperate to do something: · After having four boys, the couple were desperate to have a little girl.· We were desperate to view the inside of the house once we saw the garden.be desperate for: · Newspapers are always desperate for stories.
spoken say this when you want something to happen as soon as possible, because you know you will enjoy it and you are very excited about it: · "You're going on holiday soon, aren't you?" "Yes, I can't wait."I can't wait to do something: · I can't wait to see Bill again - it's been a long time.can't wait for: · I can't wait for Christmas.
to be impatient to do something that you are excited about, especially something you have not done before: · She's just itching to tell you about her new boyfriend.· Despite her success, however, it just wasn't much fun anymore. Liz was itching to try something different.
a word used especially in spoken English meaning to want something very much, especially something to eat, drink etc: · I need a drink - coming to the bar?· Dave's been working really hard - he needs a holiday.
to want as much of something as you can get, especially food, attention, or a drug: · I've always craved love and acceptance.· The review gave Picasso a taste of the recognition he craved.
feeling worried not feeling happy or relaxed, because you keep thinking about a problem or about something bad that might happen: · Dave could see how worried she was, and he tried to reassure her.look worried: · You look worried - what's the matter?worried about: · Marion was worried about losing her job. · We're very worried about Grandma.· I'm not really worried about how much it will cost.worried (that): · She rushed to the station, worried that she might miss her train.· I was worried if I washed it, it might shrink.get worried: · I'm getting worried because my account still hasn't registered a check I deposited a while ago.a worried look/frown/glance etc: · She had such a worried look on her face!· Helen looked at me with a worried expression.
especially written very worried because you think that something bad has happened or may happen, and you feel that you have no control over the situation: · Anxious relatives waited at the airport for news of the plane crash.feel/sound anxious: · She knew it was a simple operation, but she still felt anxious.anxious about: · Helen is always anxious about travelling alone.· When you become anxious about sleeplessness, you actually make the problem worse.an anxious face/voice/expression etc: · "Please come with me," she said in an anxious voice.· Mae cast an anxious look in his direction.
worried and slightly frightened about something that is going to happen or something new or difficult that you have to do: · I'm always nervous before exams.get nervous: · Mum gets nervous if we don't call to say we're late.look/feel/sound nervous: · Bill looked nervous, and I could see that his hands were shaking.· Harry began to feel nervous again as the plane made its descent.make somebody (feel) nervous: · The sounds outside were making me feel nervous.· Stop tapping your feet! You're making me nervous.nervous about: · Kelly was so nervous about her interview that she couldn't sleep.
worried about someone else's problems, health, safety etc: · A TV programme about cruelty to children brought hundreds of letters from concerned viewers.concerned about: · I'm very concerned about Veronica. She looks so pale, and she has no appetite.· World governments are becoming increasingly concerned about rising global temperature levels.concerned for: · Rescuers are concerned for the safety of two men trapped in the mine.
formal worried and a little frightened about something that you are going to do or about the future, because you are not sure what it will be like: · Dr Gottlieb reassures apprehensive patients that the operation is a simple procedure. apprehensive about: · I must admit that before my baby was born I was very apprehensive about motherhood.· No one need be apprehensive about their personal safety; everything is under control.
worried and not happy with a situation, because you feel there may be something wrong and you are not sure what is going to happen: make somebody uneasy: · When I answered the telephone, no one was there, which made me uneasy.feel uneasy: · After a while she started to feel uneasy, and then scared.uneasy about: · Roger was a bit uneasy about the plan, but he agreed.· 75 percent of consumers said they were uneasy about using their credit cards over the Internet.distinctly uneasy (=very uneasy): · I was distinctly uneasy in his company, but I couldn't explain why.have the/an uneasy feeling: · She had the uneasy feeling that he wasn't going to come back.
very worried, disappointed, and upset by something that has happened: · Hardeep's lawyer said his client was 'shocked and dismayed' after hearing the court's decision.dismayed at/by: · American historians are dismayed at the condition of the texts stored in the library.dismayed to see/hear etc: · We were dismayed to discover that our daughter Louise had started experimenting with heroin.dismayed that: · Danby was dismayed that Watt had opposed him in the vote.· Many of the nurses are dismayed that the management intends to make further service reductions.
informal if you do not like the look or sound of something, it makes you feel worried and unhappy because it seems threatening or dangerous: · I don't like the look of that rash on your chest.· The captain's face darkened as he listened. 'I don't like the sound of this,' he said.· Don't let anyone into your home that you don't like the look of.
making you feel worried also worrisome American · The possibility that I might lose my job is very worrying.· It must have been a worrying time for you.it's worrying that/when etc · It's always a little worrisome when a company is praised for making a smaller loss than expected.· a worrying upsurge in violence
a stressful job or situation makes you feel worried and tired all the time, for example because you have too many problems or too much work to do: · Looking after small children can be very stressful.· What's the most stressful aspect of your job?· It was a stressful time for the whole family.
: anxious time/wait/hours etc a time during which you feel worried and nervous, because the situation is dangerous and you do not know what is going to happen: · For one anxious moment, I thought the rope was going to break.· After an anxious wait, Audrey was told her father had died. · In the anxious days that followed, Henry tried to keep his mind off his results.
changing or increasing in a way that is worrying and frightening: · Even more alarming is the increase in child porn sites on the Internet.· an alarming rise in crimeit's alarming that/when etc: · It's alarming to think how many people are at risk.alarming rate/number: · The epidemic is spreading at an alarming rate.· There are no easy answers to the alarming number of mass killings taking place in our cities.in alarming numbers: · The young girls she treats in alarming numbers are the victims of broken homes and parental neglect.at an alarming rate: · Agricultural open space is disappearing at an alarming rate.with alarming frequency/regularity: · Baggage seems to go missing with alarming frequency on these flights.
a situation or time that is tense makes you feel worried and nervous that something bad might happen at any time: · The atmosphere in the waiting room was extremely tense.· In the program, the hostages re-live the tense days they spent under guard in East Africa.· In the tense silence that followed, the boys fidgeted uneasily.tense face/expression etc: · Her tone was anxious now, her face tense.
: niggling feeling/worry/doubt etc something that continues to worry you, even though you do not really want to think about it: · The suspect seemed to have proved his innocence, but a niggling doubt remained in my mind.· I couldn't shake off a niggling worry. Had I forgotten to lock the office door?
making people worried about dangers that do not really exist: · I do not wish to be alarmist, but the situation in the region is worse than it has been in many months.· The ambassador dismissed these views as excessively alarmist.· alarmist propaganda
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY She gave me an anxious look. He seemed most anxious to speak to me alone.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES He paused, afraid lest he say too much. She worried lest he should tell someone what had happened. She doesn’t seem unduly concerned about her exams.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
1worried about somethinganxious about She gave me an anxious look. He seemed most anxious to speak to me alone.· She stood looking at me with an anxious expression.
· My father watched us go with a worried face.
He paused, afraid lest he say too much. She worried lest he should tell someone what had happened. She doesn’t seem unduly concerned about her exams.· Station-masters and conductors were also anxious to emphasize their exalted positions.· Cindy seemed in some ways proud of the way she had learned to communicate with Robbie but was also anxious about it.· Although the centre is also anxious to attract women, this will take some time.· The Finance Houses Association were also anxious to ensure that collection practices conformed to the highest ethical standards.· The Opposition was also anxious to embarrass the Government, and to trap it within its own latent inconsistencies.· Reassuring, but also anxious beneath.· We are also anxious to see marine nature conservation strengthened.
· The seller is probably at least as anxious to sell as you are to buy.· He was as anxious as Betty for Russell to stay in this sunny home with the starched curtains.· Ministers were as anxious as their predecessors to preserve Britain's privileged position in the Western alliance.· Each was as anxious as the families and the Managing Director about the opening of their markets.· There may be nervousness at night, trembling limbs, though not as anxious as Aconite.· As the Kirkwood tutor, young David seemed as anxious as his employer-friends that the estate should survive.
· Stiff and inelegant, she followed him, more anxious than ever in her life to please.· Few have been more anxious to be remembered for having made important contributions to the greatness of the nation.· No one is more anxious that the penalties should be apt for the crime than those most immediately affected by prison disorder.· The farther they went, the more anxious they grew.· Some horses are actually born more anxious than others, and it makes them particularly difficult to train.· They were more anxious to escape criticism than to honour Martin.· If Balbinder didn't get a place at Cedars this year she would become even more anxious about his progress.· Such horses that are locked up in stables without sensory stimulation for a long period will become permanently more anxious and fearful.
· Hugh Fraser predictably had been most anxious to join his friend and colleague in the dock.· The most anxious and most depressed kids had the most severe symptoms.· Yet keeper Craig Nelson's most anxious moments came from Frank McAvennie efforts one in each half.· He has been most anxious to meet you.
· They're particularly anxious to hear from 2 men seen near the shop on the night of the murder.· Add to it any points that you may be particularly anxious to get right and discuss it together.· They're particularly anxious to find out what's happening.· They are particularly anxious to hear from a man they think may have witnessed one attack.
· In fact, some of them were not even valued, so anxious were the Government to get rid of them.· Which in turn made me curious as to why the numberdar was so anxious to have me along.· In fact many parents were so anxious to sign that they actively sought out the petition holders.· Because officials are so anxious to get good press, there is often tremendous pressure on the government press agent.· Are you so anxious to know what it feels like to have both eyeballs gouged out, one at a time?· I was so anxious I could not sleep.· He couldn't fathom why she was so anxious that no one else should know of his interest in her.· I see now why you're so anxious to get me married off to Honor.
· I was too anxious - far too anxious - and this put my interviewers on their guard.· They are too anxious about being something else than simply men, not firmly enough poised.· The last time she had walked down this lane she had been too anxious about Susan to notice very much.· And she was none too anxious to hear about the show.· Ari would be far too anxious in a fully conscious state.· Cranston, too, was thinking about events in the Tower but was too anxious to concentrate on the problems they posed.
· She looked rather queasy, and very anxious.· A: People are very upset and very anxious.· The most noticeable feature of this session is that everybody is very anxious.· Mr Tomlinson became very anxious and looked for the passenger both on and under the train.· There is no doubt that, superficially at least, the transsexual consents, is indeed very anxious that surgery be carried out.· The Oracle clearly becomes very anxious about this and demands to know their business.· She subsequently attended the genetic counselling clinic, and was very anxious about the situation.
NOUN· Vervet monkeys with their anxious faces come closer to look at us.· Seeing their sad, anxious faces, I wonder if perhaps Jerry has been presenting his side after all.· Their anxious faces were hidden behind dark glasses - in case the people holding Ben should recognise them.· Jim could none the less tell by his anxious face that something was wrong.· He walked slowly into Blue Horizons, longing for deep, knowing that he had first to face six anxious faces.
· Two hundred of the children brought to the hospital by their anxious parents were recruited into the trial.· Public schools were probably the greatest victims of the asbestos hoax because of understandable concerns raised by anxious parents.· Stephen Spielberg says anxious parents should view it first.· A helpline has been set up for anxious parents.
He was a bit anxious about the safety of the machinery.anxious for We were anxious for you.anxious (that) She was anxious that it might be cancer.an anxious look/expression She gave me an anxious look.► see thesaurus at worriedGRAMMAR: Prepositions with anxious• You are anxious about something: · She is anxious about the interview. ✗Don’t say: She is anxious for the interview.• You are anxious for another person (=worried that something bad might have happened to them): · They are anxious for their son.2an anxious time or situation is one in which you feel nervous or worried SYN worrying: We had an anxious couple of weeks waiting for the test results. There was an anxious moment when the plane suddenly dropped.3feeling strongly that you want to do something or want something to happen SYN keenanxious to do something The company is anxious to improve its image. He seemed most anxious to speak to me alone. The president is anxious not to have another crisis.anxious for somebody to do something Why was she so anxious for me to stay?anxious for We were all anxious for news.anxious (that) Both sides were anxious that the agreement should be signed as quickly as possible.—anxiously adverb: She waited anxiously by the phone.