anxiety - Definition | Dictionary definition of anxiety

Definition of anxiety

Nouns

(psychiatry) a relatively permanent state of worry and nervousness occurring in a variety of mental disorders, usually accompanied by compulsive behavior or attacks of panic

Synonyms:: anxiousness

Types:: show 5 types...; hide 5 types...; castration anxiety
(psychoanalysis) anxiety resulting from real or imagined threats to your sexual functions; originally applied only to men but can in principle apply to women; hypochondria, hypochondriasis
chronic and abnormal anxiety about imaginary symptoms and ailments; overanxiety
excessive anxiety; panic, scare
sudden mass fear and anxiety over anticipated events; red scare
a period of general fear of communists

Type of:: mental condition, mental state, psychological condition, psychological state
(psychology) a mental condition in which the qualities of a state are relatively constant even though the state itself may be dynamic

a vague unpleasant emotion that is experienced in anticipation of some (usually ill-defined) misfortune

Types:: show 11 types...; hide 11 types...; discomfiture, discomposure, disconcertion, disconcertment
anxious embarrassment; trouble, worry
a strong feeling of anxiety; care, concern, fear
an anxious feeling; anxiousness, disquiet
a feeling of mild anxiety about possible developments; insecurity
the anxiety you experience when you feel vulnerable and insecure; disquietude, edginess, inquietude, uneasiness
feelings of anxiety that make you tense and irritable; willies
feelings of uneasiness; sinking, sinking feeling
a feeling caused by uneasiness or apprehension; misgiving, qualm, scruple
uneasiness about the fitness of an action; jitteriness, jumpiness, nervousness, restiveness
the anxious feeling you have when you have the jitters; angst
an acute but unspecific feeling of anxiety; usually reserved for philosophical anxiety about the world or about personal freedom