Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Anxious or concerned: a solicitous parent.
- adj. Expressing care or concern: made solicitous inquiries about our family. See Synonyms at thoughtful.
- adj. Full of desire; eager.
- adj. Marked by or given to anxious care and often hovering attentiveness.
- adj. Extremely careful; meticulous: solicitous in matters of behavior.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Anxious; concerned; apprehensive; eager, whether to obtain something desirable or to avoid something evil; very desirous; greatly concerned; disturbed; uneasy: as, a solicitous temper or temperament: generally followed by an infinitive, or by about, concerning, or for (less frequently of) before the object of anxiety or concern.
Wiktionary
- adj. Disposed to solicit; eager to obtain something desirable, or to avoid anything evil; concerned; anxious; careful.
- adj. Anxious or concerned (usually followed by about, for, etc, or a clause): solicitous about a person's health.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Disposed to solicit; eager to obtain something desirable, or to avoid anything evil; concerned; anxious; careful.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. full of anxiety and concern
- adj. showing hovering attentiveness
Etymologies
- Latin sollicitus : sollus, entire; see sol- in Indo-European roots + citus, past participle of ciēre, to set in motion; see kei-2 in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“Dick, many years before, because of a certain solicitous contraction of her delicate brows that made her appear as if ever on the verge of saying, “Oh dear!””
“This was Paula’s maid, Oh Dear, so named by Dick, many years before, because of a certain solicitous contraction of her delicate brows that made her appear as if ever on the verge of saying, “Oh dear!””
“The suggestion was described to WND by spokeswoman Margaret Calhoun Hemenway, a veteran Washington appointee and now volunteer spokeswoman, as being presented in a "solicitous" manner.”
“They are a double act, too: solicitous of one another and given to the affectionate "we".”
The Guardian: Being Duckworth-Lewis: cricket's weather-break mathematicians
“The SEC has yet to issue a ruling, though it's disconcerting to note that SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro has been notably solicitous of unions in her two-year tenure.”
“In response to mounting complaints at the Prince George's school, someone in Human Resources issued an edict: aggrieved employees could simply remove the solicitous white cards.”
The Washington Post: Prince George's faculty unhappy with customer-service badges
“I actually felt relieved, but I let him be as solicitous as he wanted.”
“They were all overly solicitous, each offering to do something, but I shooed them off, telling them to return to their duties as I headed for my office.”
“Walter listened disbelievingly as O, affecting his familiar attitude of solicitous older brother, encouraged him to see the bright side in the bewildering estrangement proposed.”
“I say it with an unfortunate, almost solicitous look on my face.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘solicitous’.
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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...
justBear Used for 10 MAR 11 Mar 11, 2011
wuwu4u Stepan Arkadyevitch, like all unfaithful husbands indeed, was very solicitous for his wife's comfort, and he had himself looked over the house, and given instructions about everything that he considered necessary. Sep 13, 2007