wor ‧ ried S2 W3 /ˈwʌrid $ ˈwɜːrid/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ worried ≠ UNWORRIED , ↑ worrying , ↑ worrisome ; noun : ↑ worry , ↑ worrier ; adverb : ↑ worryingly , ↑ worriedly ; verb : ↑ worry ]
1 . unhappy because you keep thinking about a problem, or about something bad that might happen:
She gave me a worried look.
worried about
I’m really worried about my brother.
worried by
Local people are worried by the rise in crime.
worried (that)
I was worried we wouldn’t have enough money.
His parents must be worried sick (=extremely worried) .
2 . you had me worried spoken used to say that someone made you feel anxious because you did not properly understand what they said, or did not realize that it was a joke:
You had me worried there for a minute!
—worriedly adverb
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adverbs
▪ very/really worried
We were really worried about him during the divorce.
▪ increasingly worried
The family became increasingly worried about her safety.
▪ seriously/deeply worried
Hazel was now seriously worried. Why hadn’t he come back?
▪ desperately worried (=extremely worried)
All this time I was desperately worried about my family.
▪ a little/slightly worried ( also a bit worried British English )
I was a bit worried about my exams.
▪ not unduly worried (=not very worried)
Jerry did not sound unduly worried at the prospect of going to jail.
■ verbs
▪ be worried
I was so worried!
▪ get/become worried
You should have called me. I was getting worried.
▪ look worried
Don’t look so worried! It’ll be fine.
■ phrases
▪ worried sick/stiff (=extremely worried)
Where have you been? We’ve been worried sick!
■ nouns
▪ a worried expression/look
John came in with a worried look on his face.
▪ a worried frown
Her worried frown deepened.
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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