anxious
Worried and nervous about what might happen.
anxious in a sentence
- Sam felt anxious the night before his spelling test and could not sleep.
- The mother duck looked anxious as her ducklings wobbled close to the busy path.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to anxious?
- Aworried
- Bcalm
- Crelaxed
- Dconfident
Show the answer
A: worried. The other three mean the opposite of anxious.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to anxious?
- Auneasy
- Bcalm
- Cworried
- Dnervous
Show the answer
B: calm. The other three mean nearly the same as anxious.
Words that mean something similar
worried, nervous, uneasy
Words that mean the opposite
calm, relaxed, confident
More words about emotions & feelings
- apprehensive: A little scared and worried about something that is coming.
- ardent: Full of strong, keen feeling about something.
- arouse: To stir up a feeling, or to wake someone up.
- astonish: To surprise someone very much.
- awe: A feeling of great wonder and respect, sometimes mixed with a little fear.
- bemused: Puzzled and unsure about what is going on.
- bewitch: To put a magic spell on someone, or to completely charm them.
- blissful: Completely and perfectly happy.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test