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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 It’s now being used to treat migraines, fibromyalgia, neuropathy, and anxiety. Rowan Jacobsen, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025 Norton’s father said the Pippins provide the visual icon to fight the stigma that is attached to the conversation around anxiety, depression, and mental health. Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 24 Oct. 2025 The brain, already primed by expectation or anxiety, magnifies those sensations, producing very real pain, bloating, brain fog, fatigue or mood swings. New Atlas, 24 Oct. 2025 Stress is a major trigger for many people with axSpA, which means keeping anxiety and stress levels as low as possible can be as important as physical care. Cheyenne Buckingham, SELF, 24 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for anxiety
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anxiety
Noun
  • The result came after Milei’s party suffered a landslide defeat to the Peronist opposition in a September local vote in the Buenos Aires province, an outcome that sparked a selloff of the peso amid investor fears over the president’s standing with voters.
    Jason Ma, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2025
  • Harrison expressed deep fears that the White House could take an ax to CPB and public media more broadly.
    David Folkenflik, NPR, 27 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Despite its speculative premise, the series captures the loneliness that has pervaded society since the COVID pandemic and the dread of a future in which artificial intelligence might render human interaction obsolete.
    Judy Berman, Time, 27 Oct. 2025
  • The resulting amalgam of curious thoughts, heartfelt angst, expressions of longing or dread, make for a raw, touching saga shared by dozens of people, all seemingly looking for meaning.
    Will Tizard, Variety, 27 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Shanahan, the head coach in Washington from 2010 to 2013, once grilled Paulsen on offensive tackle protections out of worry the tight end might have to play emergency tackle in a preseason game.
    Jourdan Rodrigue, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Those worries resulted in a European bank stock selloff last week, although the sector quickly rebounded.
    Tasmin Lockwood, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The panic began when a pilot reportedly heard knocking on the cockpit door and was unable to contact his crew.
    Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
  • None of the panic, none of the prophetism.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Takaichi was expected to raise Japan’s security concerns about Beijing’s military build-up to Trump during his visit.
    Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Fears of climate change are decreasing in the United States, China and many Western countries relative to other concerns, according to a new survey.
    Matthew Tostevin, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Unlike past contests, this vote has unfolded against a backdrop of deep sociopolitical unease and visible youth engagement.
    Amindeh Blaise Atabong, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2025
  • This shift, unprecedented in modern Japanese history, has prompted unease among nationalist groups and some conservative politicians.
    Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • That mixture of terror and safety is the secret sauce for Mike Jubie, creator of the Headless Horseman Hayrides and Haunted Houses in New York’s historic Hudson Valley.
    Isabel Rosales, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2025
  • On the other, a vision of what life would be like without the terror group.
    Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • At that scale, chocolate prices hit with much more of a fright.
    Alina Selyukh, NPR, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Attendees will also get to enjoy the 12 pinball machines, racing games, retro games, giant centipede, air hockey, Guitar Hero, hoops, Skee Ball and so much on the night of frights.
    AvidXchange Music Factory, Charlotte Observer, 24 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Anxiety.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anxiety. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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