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Synonym Chooser

How is the word anxiety distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of anxiety are care, concern, solicitude, and worry. While all these words mean "a troubled or engrossed state of mind or the thing that causes this," anxiety stresses anguished uncertainty or fear of misfortune or failure.

plagued by anxiety and self-doubt

Where would care be a reasonable alternative to anxiety?

The meanings of care and anxiety largely overlap; however, care implies oppression of the mind weighed down by responsibility or disquieted by apprehension.

a face worn by years of care

When would concern be a good substitute for anxiety?

The words concern and anxiety can be used in similar contexts, but concern implies a troubled state of mind because of personal interest, relation, or affection.

crimes caused concern in the neighborhood

When is it sensible to use solicitude instead of anxiety?

The synonyms solicitude and anxiety are sometimes interchangeable, but solicitude implies great concern and connotes either thoughtful or hovering attentiveness toward another.

acted with typical maternal solicitude

When might worry be a better fit than anxiety?

The words worry and anxiety are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, worry suggests fretting over matters that may or may not be real cause for anxiety.

financial worries

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of anxiety Mental health concerns: The restrictive nature of the diet may lead to feelings of frustration or anxiety, or may even trigger disordered eating, particularly in individuals with a personal history of it. Verywell Health, 22 June 2025 But nearly 20 percent of the 156 total episodes were tied to WW2, nuclear holocaust, or Cold War anxiety. Jody Mamone, Hartford Courant, 21 June 2025 But there are signs that Trump-era immigration anxiety and fears over ICE raids are changing the spending habits of Latino consumers, spelling trouble for brands that appeal to that cohort. Sara Braun, Fortune, 21 June 2025 Spielberg deftly mixes in real-life post-9/11 anxiety to this end-of-the-world story to create something that feels legitimately apocalyptic. Tim Grierson, Vulture, 20 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for anxiety
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anxiety
Noun
  • And any fear—and hence bigger discounts—caused by overwrought debt worries just makes our opportunity even sweeter.
    Michael Foster, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
  • After a den of thieves ransacked a rural Northern California home so many times that the owner fled in fear, the property fell into even wilder hands: a group of bears, authorities said.
    Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2025
Noun
  • The fear is more like a soft surge of dread, as if my synapses had been been rewired to the thrusting strings of John Williams' famous theme.
    Tom Gliatto, People.com, 21 June 2025
  • Few players stir such excitement in fans, and such inevitable dread in defenders, when standing over a dead ball.
    Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 20 June 2025
Noun
  • The fact Ishiba’s LDP faces an election on July 20 only heightens the BOJ’s worries about the political establishment striking back.
    William Pesek, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025
  • But plenty of Republicans have expressed worries about the provision as well, imperiling its passage.
    Andrew R. Chow, Time, 25 June 2025
Noun
  • Yet rather than panic, creators have been quick to adapt.
    Vivian Toh, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
  • Yet the faces and the fashions, not to mention the paranoia and the panic, feel very Seventies.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 June 2025
Noun
  • On both the commercial, as well as the military side, the ability to deliver against order books was a paramount concern due to the ongoing ramp in commercial deliveries, and the shortfalls in munitions and missiles from wars in Ukraine and the mid-East.
    Jerrold Lundquist, Forbes.com, 21 June 2025
  • This has increased concern over escalating rhetoric and the possibility that individual actors will feel compelled to take matters into their own hands.
    Odette Yousef, NPR, 21 June 2025
Noun
  • Despite the stark beauty in one of the state's most productive agricultural regions, there's a sense of unease among the community's leaders as Congress debates a budget bill that could radically reshape Medicaid, the government health program for low-income people.
    John Daley, NPR, 22 June 2025
  • Then again, the Justices’ unease about whether children and adolescents can genuinely consent to life-altering treatments would be lacking in the case of adults.
    Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 20 June 2025
Noun
  • Izadi had been sanctioned by the U.S. and U.K. over his ties to the Palestinian militant faction Islamic Jihad, which also helped plan the Oct. 7 terror attacks.
    Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 21 June 2025
  • By the time Jaws’s 45th anniversaries rolled around, society was locked down in the Covid pandemic’s first year, terror gripping communities worldwide.
    Mark Hughes, Forbes.com, 21 June 2025
Noun
  • Well, consider that, unlike what’s happening in the world at large, the frights and delights inside Viola’s Room are actually fun.
    Christian Allaire, Vogue, 26 June 2025
  • Ah well, Cesare already has two sequel novels published, so there’s already plenty more Frendo the Clown frights ready to be harvested.
    Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 9 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Anxiety.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anxiety. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.

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