Meaning & use
anxious
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Worried or uneasy because you fear something may go wrong.
Grammar: Often followed by about or for: anxious about the test.
Patterns
- anxious about something
- anxious for someone
- anxious that something happens
He felt anxious about the job interview.
Her parents were anxious for news.
The long wait left everyone anxious.
adjectiveafter a verbformal
Eager for something to happen, or strongly wanting to do something.
Grammar: Follows be and takes to: anxious to leave.
Patterns
- anxious to do something
- anxious for something
She was anxious to please her new boss.
They are anxious to start the project.
He seemed anxious for a quick reply.
Word forms
| comparative | more anxious |
|---|---|
| superlative | most anxious |
Common combinations
- feel anxious
- I feel anxious before exams.
- anxious about
- She is anxious about the move.
- anxious moment
- There was an anxious moment before the results.
- anxious to please
- The new waiter was anxious to please.
- increasingly anxious
- He grew increasingly anxious as night fell.
Synonyms and how they differ
- worried
- Plainer and more common; anxious often suggests stronger, more lasting unease.
- nervous
- Describes jitters about a particular event, often with physical signs.
- uneasy
- A milder feeling that something is not quite right.
- eager
- Matches only the second sense, with no hint of worry.
Opposites
Word family
- anxiety noun
- a feeling of worry or fear
- anxiously adverb
- in a worried way
- anxiousness noun
- the state of being anxious
Commonly confused: anxious or anxious/eager?
anxious vs anxious/eager
Eager is purely positive; anxious in the sense of wanting something can still imply some worry, so use eager for happy excitement.
Practice
Choose the best option: Tom felt anxious ___ his driving test.
Choose one answer.
Anxious is commonly followed by about before the thing causing worry. The other prepositions do not fit this pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “anxious”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.