Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Anxious or fearful about the future; uneasy. See Synonyms at afraid.
- adj. Capable of understanding and quick to apprehend.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- In the habit of seizing; ready to catch or seize; desirous to lay hold of: used literally and figuratively.
- Quick to learn or understand; quick of apprehension.
- Realizing; conscious; cognizant.
- In a state of apprehension or fear; feeling alarm; fearful.
- Inclined to believe or suspect; suspicious: as, I am apprehensive that he does not understand me.
- Perceptive; feeling; sensitive.
- In metaphysics, relating to simple apprehension.
Wiktionary
- adj. Anticipating something with anxiety or fear.
- adj. Perceptive; quick to learn; intelligent; capable of grasping with the mind or intellect.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Capable of apprehending, or quick to do so; apt; discerning.
- adj. Knowing; conscious; cognizant.
- adj. Relating to the faculty of apprehension.
- adj. Anticipative of something unfavorable' fearful of what may be coming; in dread of possible harm; in expectation of evil.
- adj. Sensible; feeling; perceptive.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. mentally upset over possible misfortune or danger etc
- adj. quick to understand
- adj. in fear or dread of possible evil or harm
Examples
“For a moment, Helen stood very still, her expression apprehensive, her hands rubbing the ball, exploring the slickness of the horsehide and the ridges of the stitching.”
“Mademoiselle Avrillion put down her basket and smoothed her skirt, her expression apprehensive.”
“But, of course, this made Jennie and Susie feel very nervous and also a big word called apprehensive, which is the same thing.”
“Margaret tells me that she was apprehensive from the start of the voyage -- and even before.”
“Nicholas Hoult does look genuinely apprehensive, which is annoying because he's been perfectly at ease until now.”
“Loring Randolph, Casey Kaplan's co-director, said she remains "apprehensive" about the art market's momentum but rejoined Frieze so the gallery could introduce European buyers to a Tennessee artist they just signed, Marlo Pascual.”
The Wall Street Journal: Shopping for a New Barbed-Wire Cowboy Hat
“I was originally kind of apprehensive in contacting an author for a Q&A session out of the blue 'being that this is my first time out with this kind of thing.”
“Wouldn't you be kind of apprehensive about taking merchant ships through that area?”
“He was attending a company board meeting in Tokyo, but says he was preoccupied and "apprehensive" all morning about the sale.”
“I was kind of apprehensive because I didn't know anything about military life and was actually a little scared of what I might find.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘apprehensive’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
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High Brow
tremulous, vigorous, unction, coadjutor, dotage, mirth, obtuseness, torpid, talisman, infirm, score, subsistence and 49 more...
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sarahochap1
english 7- summer school
apposite, jubilant, supplication, penchant, kiosk, apprehensive, ecology, insular, misnomer, culinary, rhetorical, awry and 13 more...
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barrys favs...
These are the words which are used in a normal conversation...
ambivert, precarious, intriguing, intricacy, pivotal, cognizance, hindsight, back out, cliche, niche, chicane, trivial and 7 more...
oroboros We might be apprehensive when we aren't apprehensive of what's going on. Nov 18, 2009