anxiety

 
Pronunciation: /aŋˈzʌɪəti/

noun (plural anxieties)

[mass noun]
  • 1a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome: he felt a surge of anxiety [count noun]: anxieties about the moral decline of today’s youth
  • Psychiatry a nervous disorder marked by excessive uneasiness and apprehension, typically with compulsive behaviour or panic attacks: [as modifier]: she suffered from anxiety attacks
  • 2 [with infinitive] strong desire or concern to do something or for something to happen: the housekeeper’s eager anxiety to please

Origin:

early 16th century: from French anxiété or Latin anxietas, from anxius (see anxious)