apprehension

noun

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

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

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Latin Helps Build Apprehension

There’s quite a bit to comprehend about apprehension, so let’s take a closer look at its history. The Latin ancestor of apprehension (and of comprehend, prehensile, and even prison, among others) is the verb prehendere, meaning “to grasp” or “to seize.” When it was first used in the 14th century, apprehension could refer to the act of learning, a sense that is now obsolete, or the ability or power to understand things—learning and understanding both being ways to “grasp” knowledge or information. It wasn’t until the late 16th century that apprehension was used, as it still is today, for the physical seizure of something or someone (as an arrest). The most commonly used sense of apprehension today refers to a feeling that something bad is about to happen, when you seize up, perhaps, with anxiety or dread, having grasped all the unpleasant possibilities.

Synonyms

• alarm
• alarum
• apprehensiveness
• dread
• foreboding
• misgiving

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 on the Web

Even in the face of U.S. apprehensions about protectionism, European countries successfully organized their economies as one large, powerful bloc. —Ngaire Woods, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025

Trump has steered the White House toward a rapprochement with the Kremlin, monitored with apprehension by most of the U.S.' allies and many domestic lawmakers. —Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Apr. 2025

The state’s Supreme Judicial Court decided the issue well before Healey took the governor’s office, ruling in the 2017 Lunn decision that a civil detention request from the federal government’s immigration officers isn’t sufficient cause to keep a person under apprehension. —Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald, 10 Apr. 2025

According to border czar Tom Homan, the stark change happened during the first two days of the second Trump administration when only 766 apprehensions were reported on the southwest border. —Jenny Goldsberry, The Washington Examiner, 30 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Late Latin apprehension-, apprehensio, from Latin apprehendere — see apprehend

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3a

Rhymes for apprehension

• comprehension
• condescension
• hypertension
• hypotension
• reinvention
• reprehension
• resuspension
• attention
• contention
• convention
• declension
• detention

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Kids Definition

apprehension

noun

ap·​pre·​hen·​sion ˌap-ri-ˈhen-chən 

1

: arrest entry 2 sense 2

2

: an understanding of something

3

: fear of or uncertainty about what may be coming

Legal Definition

apprehension

noun

ap·​pre·​hen·​sion ˌa-pri-ˈhen-chən 

: arrest