solicitous

play

adjective so·lic·i·tous \ sə-ˈli-sə-təs , -ˈli-stəs \

Definition of solicitous

1 :manifesting or expressing solicitude

a solicitous inquiry about his health

2 :full of concern or fears :apprehensive

solicitous about the future

3 :meticulously careful

solicitous in matters of dress

4 :full of desire :eager

—

solicitously

adverb

—

solicitousness

noun

See solicitous defined for English-language learners

See solicitous defined for kids

solicitous was our Word of the Day on 12/30/2016. Hear the podcast!

Examples of solicitous in a Sentence

I appreciated his solicitous inquiry about my health.
He had always been solicitous for the welfare of his family.

Recent Examples of solicitous from the Web

The objective was to significantly lower premiums for the kind of people Republicans seem most solicitous about — younger and healthier people buying individual policies who aren’t poor enough to qualify for purchasing subsidies.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Mitch McConnell Running Out of Time, Money, and Luck in Effort to Pass Trumpcare," 12 July 2017
The president and his staff would not be so solicitous.

— joshua green, Bloomberg.com, "The Remaking of Donald Trump," 6 July 2017
The young Republicans, not surprisingly, were far more solicitous of the sitting attorney general.

— cathleen decker, chicagotribune.com, "At Sessions hearing, new senators take turn in spotlight," 13 June 2017
On the Palestinian side, there is little to lose in being solicitous of Mr. Trump.

— ian fisher, New York Times, "Warm Start With Israel Cools as Trump Prepares Visit. What Happened?," 17 May 2017
Frictions with the administration come with the territory, even as many in the briefing room are solicitous to the point of unseemly apple-polishing of the spokesman.

— vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, "Is It Time for the White House Press Briefing to Die?," 16 May 2017
For months before Americans voted last year, European leaders denounced Donald Trump — only to have to make amends this year with solicitous visits to the new U.S. president at the White House.

— griff witte, Washington Post, "After French vote, European leaders come out against Le Pen. But what if she wins?," 24 Apr. 2017
The Augusta National Golf Club uses that term and so do many of its business partners, like a long-solicitous CBS.

— The Hive, "Why Experts Say Democrats Are Still “Screwed”," 10 Apr. 2017
Shiffrin is sweet and genuine off the slopes, respectful and solicitous of others.

— john meyer, The Denver Post, "Aspen celebrates Mikaela Shiffrin winning World Cup overall title at age 22," 18 Mar. 2017

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

Did You Know?

If you're solicitous about learning the connections between words, you'll surely want to know about the relationship between "solicitous" and another word you've probably heard before-"solicit." "Solicitous" doesn't come from "solicit," but the two words are related. They both have their roots in the Latin word sollicitus, meaning "anxious." "Solicitous" itself came directly from this Latin word, whereas "solicit" made its way to English with a few more steps. From "sollicitus" came the Latin verb sollicitare, meaning "to disturb, agitate, move, or entreat." Forms of this verb were borrowed into Anglo-French, and then Middle English, and have survived in Modern English as "solicit."