anxiously


Also found in: Thesaurus.

anx·ious

 (ăngk′shəs, ăng′shəs)
adj.
1. Uneasy and apprehensive about an uncertain event or matter; worried.
2. Attended with, showing, or causing anxiety: spent an anxious night waiting for the test results.
3. Usage Problem Eagerly or earnestly desirous.

[From Latin ānxius, from angere, to torment; see angh- in Indo-European roots.]

anx′ious·ly adv.
anx′ious·ness n.
Usage Note: Anxious has a long history of use as a synonym for eager, but some prefer that anxious be used only to describe those who are worried or uneasy, as in the sentence He's anxious about his upcoming surgery. The acceptability of anxious to mean eager has been increasing, however. In our 1999 survey of the Usage Panel, 47 percent approved of the sentence We are anxious to see the new show of British sculpture at the museum, whereas in 2014, this sentence was acceptable to 57 percent of panelists. The acceptability was higher for this usage in a sentence about a situation with a tinge of uneasiness: After a four-hour bus ride, the children were anxious to get outside (acceptable to 69 percent of the Panel in 1999 and 78 percent in 2014). Although resistance to the use of anxious to mean eager is waning, writers should be aware that there are still those who frown upon using the word in situations where no anxiety is present.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adv.1.anxiously - with anxiety or apprehensionanxiously - with anxiety or apprehension; "we watched anxiously"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
بِقَلَق
úzkostlivě
bekymret
meî kvíîa
endişeyleistekle

anxiously

[ˈæŋkʃəslɪ] ADV
1. (= worriedly) [look, wait] → con preocupación, con inquietud
"am I boring you?" she said, anxiously-¿te aburro? -dijo con ansiedad
2. (= keenly, eagerly) → ansiosamente, con ansiedad
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

anxiously

[ˈæŋkʃəsli] adv [say] → anxieusement
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

anxiously

adv
(= keenly)gespannt
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

anxiously

[ˈæŋkʃəslɪ] advansiosamente, con ansia
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

anxious

(ˈӕŋkʃəs) adjective
1. worried about what may happen or have happened. She is anxious about her father's health.
2. causing worry, fear or uncertainty. an anxious moment.
3. wanting very much (to do etc something). He's very anxious to please.
ˈanxiously adverb
anxiety (aŋˈzaiəti) noun
His health is a great anxiety to me; filled with anxiety about her child's health.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
"I wish Steve would just cut up and see if she's there, since I can't go," began Mac, anxiously.
Aunt Chloe stood anxiously straining her eyes out into the darkness.
Alice kept her eyes anxiously fixed on it, for she felt sure she would catch a bad cold if she did not get dry very soon.
He gazed once more into her face, at the brown eyes watching him now a little anxiously, the mouth with the humorous twitch at the corner of her lips.
Anxiously Bruce watched for the light, and at last he saw it.
On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war.
She had been crying, I could see, but when I opened my eyes she smiled, peered at me anxiously, and sat down on the foot of my bed.
Philip had been waiting anxiously for such an opportunity, but now that it came he hesitated.
"Why don't you change me into a goat, or a chicken?" he asked, anxiously. "You can't do anything with a marble statue."
Clausen asked anxiously, as they waited at the shaft.
I have been thinking about you anxiously in the wakeful hours of the night.
"What's the matter?" called the Tin Woodman, anxiously.