concern 1 of 2

concern

2 of 2

verb

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2
as in to affect
to be the business or affair of the problems of air and water pollution that concern all of us

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Synonym Chooser

How is the word concern distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of concern are anxiety, care, solicitude, and worry. While all these words mean "a troubled or engrossed state of mind or the thing that causes this," concern implies a troubled state of mind because of personal interest, relation, or affection.

crimes caused concern in the neighborhood

When could anxiety be used to replace concern?

In some situations, the words anxiety and concern are roughly equivalent. However, anxiety stresses anguished uncertainty or fear of misfortune or failure.

plagued by anxiety and self-doubt

When is care a more appropriate choice than concern?

The words care and concern are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, care implies oppression of the mind weighed down by responsibility or disquieted by apprehension.

a face worn by years of care

When can solicitude be used instead of concern?

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

acted with typical maternal solicitude

When is it sensible to use worry instead of concern?

While the synonyms worry and concern are close in meaning, 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 concern
Noun
Benioff clarified his National Guard comments in subsequent days leading up to Dreamforce, without backing off his long-running concerns over public safety. Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2025 Platforms have been listening to advertiser concerns, Granger said, but the hope is to have Apple, Spotify and YouTube move to more of a standard, as advertisers look to see how an ad performs across all mediums. Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 27 Oct. 2025
Verb
Canavan is concerned—for restaurants, on a financial level, and for the food itself. Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 27 Oct. 2025 More on why environmental groups are concerned. Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 26 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for concern
Recent Examples of Synonyms for concern
Noun
  • To review or object to instances where our partners assert a legitimate interest in utilizing your data, please visit our vendors page.
    Walden Green, Pitchfork, 24 Oct. 2025
  • During those visits, Ray and Alex took an interest in dance — getting up onstage with the park’s performers and talking with them after the shows.
    Shannon Pettypiece, NBC news, 24 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
Verb
  • Hours before Wednesday's game against the Halifax Macs, the Nova Scotia U-18 Major Hockey League announced on X that Marchand and Andrew Bodnarchuk will cover for the grieving father as guest coaches.
    Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025
  • The new banner will cover film and TV, and span scripted and docs.
    Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Hitt also said that tariffs have not significantly affected the business.
    Sydney Sasser, Arkansas Online, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Johnson says the concussion affected his ability to concentrate and even altered his personality that year, which dovetailed with the release of his 2010 double album, The Guitar Song.
    Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Not the kind of thrift store that’s actually thrifty, but the kind of thrift store that doesn’t have any price tags because the people who can afford to shop there don’t need to bother themselves with price tags.
    Lex Goldstein, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Being a double Viking with Swedish and Norman blood on each side of my family, the cold never bothered me.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The online education company, founded 20 years ago, has been hit by the rise of generative AI software tools, such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, which have become increasingly popular among students.
    Annie Palmer, CNBC, 28 Oct. 2025
  • The company's previous mark for orbital launches was 134, set in 2024.
    Mike Wall, Space.com, 28 Oct. 2025
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
Verb
  • House District 25 includes parts of Crawford, Franklin and Washington counties.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Hurricane warnings are in effect in large cities, including Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo in the eastern region, the NHC said in its latest update.
    Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Concern.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/concern. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.

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