WORRY (worried)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: worried   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does worry mean? 

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

1. something or someone that causes anxiety; a source of unhappiness

2. a strong feeling of anxiety

  Familiarity information: WORRY used as a noun is rare.

• WORRY (verb)
  The verb WORRY has 6 senses:

1. be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy

2. be concerned with

3. disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress

4. be on the mind of

5. lacerate by biting

6. touch or rub constantly

  Familiarity information: WORRY used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WORRY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Something or someone that causes anxiety; a source of unhappiness

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

concern; headache; vexation; worry

Context example:

it's a major worry

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

negative stimulus (a stimulus with undesirable consequences)

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

bugaboo (a source of concern)

burden; encumbrance; incumbrance; load; onus (an onerous or difficult concern)

business (a rightful concern or responsibility)

Derivation:

worry (disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress)

worry (be concerned with)

worry (be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A strong feeling of anxiety

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Synonyms:

trouble; worry

Context example:

he wanted to die and end his troubles

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

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

Derivation:

worry (be concerned with)

worry (be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy)

• WORRY (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they worry    ... he / she / it worries   
Past simple: worried   
Past participle: worried   
-ing form: worrying   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Context example:

I worry about my job

Verb group:

vex; worry (disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "worry"):

fret (be agitated or irritated)

fear (be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event)

fret; fuss; niggle (worry unnecessarily or excessively)

obsess (be preoccupied with something)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sentence example:

They worry that there was a traffic accident

Derivation:

worrier (thinks about unfortunate things that might happen)

worriment (a difficulty that causes anxiety)

worry (something or someone that causes anxiety; a source of unhappiness)

worry (a strong feeling of anxiety)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be concerned with

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

care; worry

Context example:

I worry about my grades

Hypernyms (to "worry" is one way to...):

mind (be concerned with or about something or somebody)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "worry"):

brood; dwell (think moodily or anxiously about something)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

worry (something or someone that causes anxiety; a source of unhappiness)

worry (a strong feeling of anxiety)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

vex; worry

Context example:

I cannot sleep--my daughter's health is worrying me

Hypernyms (to "worry" is one way to...):

cark; disorder; disquiet; distract; perturb; trouble; unhinge (disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or alarmed)

Cause:

worry (be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy)

Verb group:

worry (be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "worry"):

misgive (suggest fear or doubt)

eat; eat on (worry or cause anxiety in a persistent way)

nag (worry persistently)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The bad news will worry him

Antonym:

reassure (cause to feel sure; give reassurance to)

Derivation:

worry (something or someone that causes anxiety; a source of unhappiness)

worrying (the act of harassing someone)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Be on the mind of

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

concern; interest; occupy; worry

Context example:

I worry about the second Germanic consonant shift

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The bad news will worry him

Sense 5

Meaning:

Lacerate by biting

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

the dog worried his bone

Hypernyms (to "worry" is one way to...):

incise (make an incision into by carving or cutting)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 6

Meaning:

Touch or rub constantly

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

The old man worried his beads

Hypernyms (to "worry" is one way to...):

rub (move over something with pressure)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

 Context examples 

A question about whether an individual has or had stomach problems that caused them to worry.

(Have Stomach Problems That Worry Me, NCI Thesaurus)

Feeling worried from time to time is normal.

(Anxiety molecules affect male and female mice differently, NIH)

A question about an individual's distress related to their emotional problems with worry.

(Distress over Emotional Problem with Worry, NCI Thesaurus)

These waves surround us, and are making people worry.

(Health threats caused by mobile phone radiation, EUROPARL TV)

"Rest your brains and do not worry about the wall," replied the Woodman.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

This study isn’t designed to stress and worry women, especially those who have experienced the distress of pregnancy loss.

(Pregnancy losses and large numbers of children linked with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, University of Cambridge)

Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) Do you worry a lot about the past?

(GDS - Worry About the Past, NCI Thesaurus)

"Get what you like, and don't disturb me. I'm going out to dinner and can't worry about things at home," said Mrs. March, when Jo spoke to her.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Current Opioid Misuse Measure (COMM) In the past 30 days, how often have others been worried about how you're handling your medications?

(COMM - Others Worry About Your Medications, NCI Thesaurus)

Brissenden lay sick in his hotel, too feeble to stir out, and, though Martin was with him often, he did not worry him with his troubles.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)