1
as in fear
an uneasy state of mind usually over the possibility of an anticipated misfortune or trouble
Dorothy's anxiety about her brother's operation kept her awake all night
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dread
the emotion experienced in the presence or threat of danger
the newly discovered virus is creating considerable anxiety in the public at large
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
The moon’s clash with Venus intensifies anxieties.
—
Usa Today, USA Today, 12 Apr. 2026
The stabbings come after multiple attacks in recent years that have raised anxiety around New York City’s subway system.
—Gloria Pazmino, CNN Money, 11 Apr. 2026
For Navrina Singh, CEO of AI governance startup Credo AI, the proliferation of new AI tools has been simultaneously exciting and anxiety inducing for her.
—Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 11 Apr. 2026
And some are using chatbots for advice on how to cope with symptoms of anxiety and depression.
—Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for anxiety
Usa Today, USA Today, 12 Apr. 2026
The stabbings come after multiple attacks in recent years that have raised anxiety around New York City’s subway system.
—Gloria Pazmino, CNN Money, 11 Apr. 2026
For Navrina Singh, CEO of AI governance startup Credo AI, the proliferation of new AI tools has been simultaneously exciting and anxiety inducing for her.
—Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 11 Apr. 2026
And some are using chatbots for advice on how to cope with symptoms of anxiety and depression.
—Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for anxiety
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anxiety
Noun
-
Nearly a quarter of New Orleans residents live in poverty, and the prospect of a substantial windfall for a few hours’ work apparently outweighed any fear of getting into a car that was about to take part in a high-speed accident.—
Patrick Radden Keefe,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Esther says Kim had shared her fear of Terry Rose well before her disappearance.—
Peter Van Sant,
CBS News,
12 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Stetson also gathered a lot of woodwinds, particularly clarinets, as a counterpoint to the trees and as a voice for the icy, violent dread that hangs over the Harkin-Cunningham nuptials.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
11 Apr. 2026
-
But there is a more general dread about human vulnerability to technology—a growing existential fear that people are losing the authorship and agency of their own lives to, particularly, artificial intelligence—that will be reflected in an avalanche of related negligent-design legal claims.—
Jeannie Suk Gersen,
New Yorker,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
However, boundaries have not been redrawn since the 1971 census, as successive governments delayed the process over concerns about uneven population growth.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Damaging winds and flooding remain the primary concerns for any storms that can form on Thursday.—
Ahmad Bajjey,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
But in the absence of such attuned and invested adults, these panic responses can be sustained and lead to long-term changes in the way the child’s genes interact, the way the child’s brain develops and functions, and the way the child understands and interacts with others.—
Dr. Andrew Garner,
Boston Herald,
12 Apr. 2026
-
And on top of all of that, nothing ensues panic quite like losing your cell phone in a foreign country (or anywhere for that matter).—
Michelle Baricevic,
Travel + Leisure,
12 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Put the worry of blisters behind you once and for all, and step into spring in style with the most comfortable shoes, according to the internet.—
Stephanie Osmanski,
Better Homes & Gardens,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Burritt said the upshot is that his company, as a Nippon subsidiary, is freed from worries about geopolitical uncertainty.—
Cory Schouten,
semafor.com,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
That feeling can present in many ways — rumination, a knot in your throat or your chest, an unease in your stomach, the tensing of muscles.—
Goth Shakira
Contributing,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026
-
John Maynard Keynes famously predicted in the 1930s that by 2030, a 15-hour work week would be possible—and then asked, with obvious unease, what people would do with all that free time.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
And there will surely be a cascade of tears and terrors in-between.—
Selome Hailu,
Variety,
15 Apr. 2026
-
They were included to demonstrate the similarities between cases and the terror that victims were forced to endure.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Dark, eerie, and paranoid (for good reason), the eight-episode season shifts back and forth from the casual grimness of an unwelcoming reality to the shocking frights of a stoner’s worst nightmare (the latter of which is shrewdly motivated by Rachel regularly smoking pot).—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
26 Mar. 2026
-
The real fright, though, came midway through that final frame, when star center Dylan Larkin went down in a heap after his skate seemed to catch awkwardly on the ice.—
Max Bultman,
New York Times,
7 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Anxiety.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anxiety. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
