apprehension

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noun ap·pre·hen·sion \ ˌa-pri-ˈhen(t)-shən \

Definition of apprehension

1 :suspicion or fear especially of future evil :foreboding

an atmosphere of nervous apprehension

2 :seizure by legal process :arrest

apprehension of a criminal

3 a :the act or power of perceiving or comprehending something

a person of dull apprehension

b :the result of apprehending something mentally :conception

according to popular apprehension

See apprehension defined for English-language learners

See apprehension defined for kids

apprehension was our Word of the Day on 07/02/2015. Hear the podcast!

Examples of apprehension in a Sentence

The thought of moving to a new city fills me with apprehension.
an increased number of apprehensions

Recent Examples of apprehension from the Web

If only football could be played free of catastrophic consequences, free of the head-banging that has contributed to so much brain damage, free of the apprehension that the men who play the game are taking a terrible gamble.

— tim sullivan, The Courier-Journal, "Accepting risk is part of football's bargain | Tim Sullivan," 8 Aug. 2017
But the same apprehensions that spooked politicians and the local population in Boston soon became evident in Europe where three cities pulled out.

— Bloomberg.com, "Los Angeles Reaches Deal With Olympic Leaders for 2028 Games," 31 July 2017
The Emmett Police Department news release did not mention the Gem County pursuit or apprehension, but notes that a person of interest has been identified.

— kristin rodine, idahostatesman, "Emmett police cars torched; investigators ID suspect, but not publicly," 26 July 2017
The South Carolina Department of Corrections tweeted word of Jimmy Causey's apprehension: There were no initial details on how Causey was caught.

— CBS News, "Kidnapper and repeat maximum security prison escapee Jimmy Causey recaptured," 7 July 2017
Yet, there’s some apprehension about whether the government will keep to its timetable to release the labor survey.

— archana chaudhary, Bloomberg.com, "India Officials Trek Through Villages to Map Rising Joblessness," 6 July 2017
The rise in refugee resettlement in Mexico has paralleled a decrease in immigration to the US, with apprehensions by US Border Patrol down sharply at the frontier – especially of unaccompanied children and families like Cruz's.

— christopher sherman, The Christian Science Monitor, "More families fleeing Central America leads to rise in refugee resettlement in Mexico," 5 July 2017
Apprehensions soared 38 percent during the first three months of his presidency compared with the same period last year.

— caitlin dickerson, New York Times, "Trump Administration Targets Parents in New Immigration Crackdown," 1 July 2017
Going public helps alleviate some of those apprehensions, Harty said.

— jonathan vanian, Fortune, "Wall Street Welcomes Tintri with a Lukewarm Reception," 30 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'apprehension.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Latin Helps Build apprehension

The Latin verb prehendere really grabs our attention. It means "to grasp" or "to seize," and it is an ancestor of various English words. It teamed up with the prefix ad- (which takes the form ap- before p and means "to," "toward," or "near") to form apprehendere, the Latin predecessor of our words apprehension, apprehend, and apprehensive. When prehendere joined the prefix com- ("with," "together," "jointly"), Latin got comprehendere, and English eventually got comprehend, comprehension, and comprehensive. Prehendere also gave us the words comprise, prehensile ("adapted for seizing or grasping"), prison, reprehend, and reprise, among others.