worry
Pronunciation
  • (RP, New Zealand, Aus) IPA: /ˈwʌɹi/
  • (GA) IPA: /ˈwʌɹi/, /ˈwɝɹi/
  • (New Zealand, Aus, non-standard) IPA: /ˈwɒɹi/
Verb

worry

  1. (intransitive) To be troubled; to give way to mental anxiety or doubt.
    Stop worrying about your test, it’ll be fine.
  2. (transitive) Disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress.
    Your tone of voice worries me.
  3. (transitive) To harass; to irritate or distress.
    The President was worried into military action by persistent advisors.
  4. (transitive) To seize or shake by the throat, especially of a dog or wolf.
    Your dog’s been worrying sheep again.
  5. (transitive) To touch repeatedly, to fiddle with.
    • 1997, David Sedaris, "A Plague of Tics", Naked, page 15:
      So what if I wanted to touch my nose to the windshield? Who was it hurting? Why was it that he could repeatedly worry his change and bite his lower lip without the threat of punishment?
    • 2002, Masha Hamilton, Staircase of a Thousand Steps, page 272 ↗:
      No stories, no arguments. He just worries his prayer beads.
  6. (transitive, obsolete, Scotland) To strangle.
    • 1891, Journal of Jurisprudence and Scottish Law Magazine (1891), Execution of the Judgment of Death, page 397:
      We read (Law's Memor. Pref. lix.) that "one John Brugh, a notorious warlock (wizard) in the parochin of Fossoquhy, by the space of thirty-six years, was worried at a stake and burned, 1643."
Synonyms
  • (trouble mentally) fret
Translations
  • French: inquiéter
  • German: besorgt sein, sich Sorgen machen (sich is in the dative case, e.g. "mach dir keine Sorgen")
  • Italian: preoccuparsi
  • Portuguese: preocupar-se
  • Russian: беспоко́иться
  • Spanish: preocuparse, estar preocupado, inquietarse, comerse la cabeza
Translations Translations Translations Noun

worry

  1. A strong feeling of anxiety.
    I'm afflicted by worry throughout the night.
  2. An instance or cause of such a feeling.
    My main worry is that I'll miss the train.
Translations


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