1.
[syn: anxiety, anxiousness]
2. a vague unpleasant emotion that is experienced in anticipation of some (usually ill-defined) misfortune;
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Anxiety \Anx*i"e*ty\, n.; pl. Anxieties. [L. anxietas, fr.
anxius: cf. F. anxi['e]t['e]. See Anxious.]
1. Concern or solicitude respecting some thing or event,
future or uncertain, which disturbs the mind, and keeps it
in a state of painful uneasiness.
[1913 Webster]
2. Eager desire. --J. D. Forbes
[1913 Webster]
3. (Med.) A state of restlessness and agitation, often with
general indisposition and a distressing sense of
oppression at the epigastrium. --Dunglison.
[1913 Webster]
Syn: Care; solicitude; foreboding; uneasiness; perplexity;
disquietude; disquiet; trouble; apprehension;
restlessness. See Care.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
anxiety
n 1: (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 [syn: anxiety, anxiousness]
2: a vague unpleasant emotion that is experienced in
anticipation of some (usually ill-defined) misfortune