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anxiousness

American  
[angk-shuhs-nis, ang-] / ˈæŋk ʃəs nɪs, ˈæŋ- /

noun

  1. the state of being greatly worried; mental distress or uneasiness because of fear of danger or misfortune; anxiety.

    The warm welcome from her new classmates made all her anxiousness go away.

  2. the state of being earnestly desirous; eagerness (followed by to orfor ).

    As he sat in the cabin of the combat plane, he felt no fear or apprehension, just anxiousness to get airborne.


Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of anxiousness

First recorded in 1630–40; anxious ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

When he was awake, he was gripped by anxiousness and fear.

From The Wall Street Journal Mar. 30, 2026

"It will just take the anxiousness away from every storm, every winter - even when it rains the anxiety levels are through the roof," she said.

From BBC Feb. 1, 2026

“This position change, things should alleviate some — I don’t want to say pressure — but just whatever anxiousness he might have had,” said manager Dave Roberts to reporters about Lux.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 9, 2024

On the other hand, their anxiousness scores were 13 per cent higher when standing in a busy downtown location for the same length of time.

From Science Daily Feb. 27, 2024

Add to that his anxiousness as to whether she would come.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

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