English
concern
Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French concerner, from Medieval Latin concerno, from Latin concernō, combined form of con- + cernō ("distinguish").

Pronunciation
  • (America) IPA: /kənˈsɝn/
  • (RP) IPA: /kənˈsɜːn/
Noun

concern

  1. That which affects one’s welfare or happiness. A matter of interest to someone.
    Synonyms: interest
    Antonyms: unconcern
    Mark’s health was of great concern to Connie.
    • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC ↗:
      We drove back to the office with some concern on my part at the prospect of so large a case. Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.
  2. The placement of interest or worry on a subject.
    Most people in Australia have no concern for the recent events in London.
  3. A worry; a sense that something may be wrong; an identification of a possible problem.
    Let me know if you have any questions or concerns about the document.
  4. The expression of solicitude, anxiety, or compassion toward a thing or person.
    Judy's eyes filled with concern as she listened to the news report.
    • 1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 22, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC ↗:
      Appleby […] rose from his seat when Morales came in. He shook hands urbanely, unbuckled his sword, and laid his kepi on the table, and then sat down with an expression of concern in his olive face which Appleby fancied was assumed.
  5. A business, firm or enterprise; a company.
    The employees’ attitude is really hurting the concern.
    a going concern
    • 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC ↗, part I, page 198 ↗:
      Then I remembered there was a big concern, a Company for trade on that river.
  6. (programming) Any set of information that affects the code of a computer program.
    • 2006, Awais Rashid, Mehmet Aksit, Transactions on Aspect-Oriented Software Development II, page 148:
      At the programming level, an aspect is a modular unit that implements a concern.
Translations Translations Translations Verb

concern (concerns, present participle concerning; simple past and past participle concerned)

  1. (transitive) To relate or belong to; to have reference to or connection with; to affect the interest of; to be of importance to.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC ↗, Acts xxviii:31 ↗:
      Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ.
    • 1708, Joseph Addison, The Present State of the War, and the Necessity of an Augmentation:
      our wars with France have always affected us in our most tender interests, and concerned us more than those we have had with any other nation
    • 1821, James Fenimore Cooper, The Spy:
      ignorant, so far as the usual instruction was concerned
    • 1915, G[eorge] A. Birmingham [pseudonym; James Owen Hannay], chapter I, in Gossamer, New York, N.Y.: George H. Doran Company, →OCLC ↗:
      As a political system democracy seems to me extraordinarily foolish, but I would not go out of my way to protest against it. My servant is, so far as I am concerned, welcome to as many votes as he can get. I would very gladly make mine over to him if I could.
  2. (transitive) To engage by feeling or sentiment; to interest.
    A good prince concerns himself in the happiness of his subjects.
    • a. 1729, John Rogers, A Sufficiency adjusted and recommended:
      They think themselves out the reach of Providence, and no longer concerned to solicit his favour.
  3. (transitive) To make somebody worried.
    I’m concerned that she’s becoming an alcoholic.
Synonyms Translations Translations

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