# anxious

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈæŋ(k)ʃəs/ · frequency rank #6,112

## Definitions
1. Nervous and worried.
2. Having a feeling of anxiety or disquietude; extremely concerned, especially about something that will happen in the future or that is unknown.
3. Accompanied with, or causing, anxiety; worrying.
4. Earnestly desirous.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Latin anxius, from angō (“to cause pain, choke”); akin to Ancient Greek ἄγχω (ánkhō, “to choke”). See anger; angst.

## Easily confused with
- **anxiously** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/anxious-vs-anxiously)
- **animus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/animus-vs-anxious)

## Common misspellings (9)
`anixous`, `annxious`, `anxiosu`, `anxiouss`, `anxiuos`, `anxoius`, `anxxious`, `axnious`, `naxious`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/anxious