INSECURITY

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does insecurity mean? 

• INSECURITY (noun)
  The noun INSECURITY has 2 senses:

1. the state of being subject to danger or injury

2. the anxiety you experience when you feel vulnerable and insecure

  Familiarity information: INSECURITY used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INSECURITY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The state of being subject to danger or injury

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("insecurity" is a kind of...):

danger (the condition of being susceptible to harm or injury)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "insecurity"):

insecureness (the state of being exposed to risk or anxiety)

Antonym:

security (the state of being free from danger or injury)

Derivation:

insecure (lacking in security or safety)

insecure (not safe from attack)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The anxiety you experience when you feel vulnerable and insecure

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Hypernyms ("insecurity" is a kind of...):

anxiety (a vague unpleasant emotion that is experienced in anticipation of some (usually ill-defined) misfortune)

Derivation:

insecure (lacking self-confidence or assurance)

 Context examples 

"May it be right then," I said, as I rose, deeming it useless to continue a discourse which was all darkness to me; and, besides, sensible that the character of my interlocutor was beyond my penetration; at least, beyond its present reach; and feeling the uncertainty, the vague sense of insecurity, which accompanies a conviction of ignorance.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)