ap ‧ pre ‧ hen ‧ sive /ˌæprɪˈhensɪv◂/ BrE AmE adjective
worried or nervous about something that you are going to do, or about the future
apprehensive about/of
We’d been a little apprehensive about their visit.
apprehensive that
I was apprehensive that something would go wrong.
Some had apprehensive looks on their faces.
—apprehensively adverb :
‘What’s wrong?’ I asked apprehensively.
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THESAURUS
▪ worried not feeling happy or relaxed because you keep thinking about a problem or something bad that might happen:
I was worried that you had forgotten our date.
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It’s awful if you are worried about money.
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I was so worried that I couldn’t sleep at all.
▪ anxious worried because you think something bad might happen or has happened. Anxious is more formal than worried , and is often used about a general feeling of worry, when you are not sure what has happened:
A lot of employees are anxious about their jobs.
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Anxious relatives waited for news.
▪ nervous worried or frightened about something you are going to do or experience, and unable to relax:
Everyone feels nervous before an exam.
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The thought of going into hospital was making me nervous.
▪ uneasy a little worried because you feel there may be something wrong and you are not sure what is going to happen:
When she still wasn’t home by midnight, I began to feel uneasy.
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The total silence was making me feel uneasy.
▪ concerned formal worried, usually about a problem affecting someone else or affecting the country or the world:
Many people are concerned about the current economic situation.
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Police say that they are concerned for the safety of the missing girl.
▪ bothered [not before noun] worried by something that happens – often used in negative sentences:
She didn’t seem particularly bothered by the news.
▪ troubled very worried, so that you think about something a lot:
She fell into a troubled sleep.
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a troubled expression
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‘Are you okay, Ben? You look troubled.’
▪ apprehensive especially written a little worried about something you are going to do, or about the future, because you are not sure what it will be like:
I felt a bit apprehensive about seeing him again after so long.
▪ stressed (out) informal very worried and tired because of problems, too much work etc, and unable to relax or enjoy life:
He’d been working ten hours a day for ages and was stressed out.
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an extremely stressed single mother