appréhension
French, noun/a.pʁe.ɑ̃.sjɔ̃/
appréhension is spelled A-P-P-R-É-H-E-N-S-I-O-N (12 letters) and appears 2.1 times per million words in written French, the 20,080th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Appréhension is a French feminine noun meaning “apprehension (anticipation, especially of unfavorable things such as dread or fear or the prospect of something unpleasant in the future)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Action de saisir les choses par l’esprit”.
What does appréhension mean in English?
noun
- 1
feminineapprehension (anticipation, especially of unfavorable things such as dread or fear or the prospect of something unpleasant in the future)
- 2
feminineunderstanding, comprehension, perception
Near-synonym: compréhension
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Action de saisir les choses par l’esprit. 2. Idée qu’on prend d’une chose sans en porter alors aucun jugement. 3. Crainte éprouvée en amont d’une situation. 4. Action de soustraire, de saisir.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of appréhension
- appréhensions plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce appréhension?
- /a.pʁe.ɑ̃.sjɔ̃/
- \a.pʁe.ɑ̃.sjɔ̃\
- [l‿a.pʁe.ɑ̃.sjɔ̃]
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to appréhension
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is appréhension in French?
appréhension appears 2.1 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).