Synonym Chooser

How is the word solicitude distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of solicitude are anxiety, care, concern, and worry. While all these words mean "a troubled or engrossed state of mind or the thing that causes this," solicitude implies great concern and connotes either thoughtful or hovering attentiveness toward another.

acted with typical maternal solicitude

When could anxiety be used to replace solicitude?

Although the words anxiety and solicitude have much in common, anxiety stresses anguished uncertainty or fear of misfortune or failure.

plagued by anxiety and self-doubt

In what contexts can care take the place of solicitude?

The words care and solicitude can be used in similar contexts, but care implies oppression of the mind weighed down by responsibility or disquieted by apprehension.

a face worn by years of care

When can concern be used instead of solicitude?

The words concern and solicitude are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, 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 worry instead of solicitude?

The meanings of worry and solicitude largely overlap; however, 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 solicitude Nature has made this a necessity: Without constant care and solicitude, an infant will die. Roxana Robinson, TIME, 18 July 2024 This idea will add the inducements of philanthropy to those of patriotism, to heighten the solicitude which all considerate and good men must feel for the event. Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 30 May 2024 That’s surely what accounts for the solicitude that the cryptocurrency industry has been receiving from Congress. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2024 Realistically, however, Mexico faces a tough fight in a Supreme Court that’s shown a great deal of solicitude for the gun industry — even in cases that don’t involve a federal statute that protects gun companies from liability. Ian Millhiser, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018 See All Example Sentences for solicitude
Recent Examples of Synonyms for solicitude
Noun
  • Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously opposed the bill, citing concerns over potential retaliation against Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
    Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 11 Nov. 2025
  • Addressing environmental and material concerns While perovskite materials are relatively affordable, their use of rare elements and lead raises environmental concerns.
    Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 11 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Just as essential a consideration as carefulness for committee members, though, is speed.
    Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 26 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Cotton argued the shutdown’s cause was not the expiring health care subsidies, but rather Democrats’ fear of blowback from their supporters.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 11 Nov. 2025
  • Iran is facing its worst drought in decades, raising fears of evacuations in Tehran while threatening the regime’s stability and nuclear ambitions, according to a leading environmental expert.
    Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 10 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Squid Game is an elimination game, but there are these moments of deep altruism and kindness even amongst it.
    Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Nov. 2025
  • The space is charming, and the entire team radiates warmth and kindness.
    Carlos Rico, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • The attendees—thirty- and forty-somethings who are members of the bank’s Private Wealth Management (PWM) division, which boasts an average account size of over $75 million—gathered to hash out their anxiety and excitement.
    Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 9 Nov. 2025
  • Barton will have to wait another month to receive his sentence for the six guilty counts the jury returned on charges of sending a grossly offensive electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety to football broadcasters Eni Aluko and Lucy Ward, and TV and radio host Jeremy Vine.
    Greg O'Keeffe, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • But the care and keeping of me?
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Nov. 2025
  • Any infants experiencing symptoms should have their care provider contacted immediately.
    Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 9 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Meanwhile Syria remains scarred by years of conflict and nationals in Germany are looking on at the debate with mounting worry.
    Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 9 Nov. 2025
  • Leaders at big carmakers spelled out their worries in the latest round of earnings calls, saying that finding a replacement for Nexperia at scale in the short term will be difficult.
    Boston Herald Wire Services, Boston Herald, 8 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Directed by Tiago Rosa-Rosso, the film stages a gently absurd domestic scenario that drifts between comedy and unease, unfoldig like a theatrical chamber piece where logic slips and all is up for questioning.
    Callum McLennan, Variety, 7 Nov. 2025
  • The feature opens as Magda’s son returns from the front to this world without men, with his arrival stirring a growing unease among the group.
    Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 6 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Solicitude.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/solicitude. Accessed 12 Nov. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on solicitude

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