1 apprehensive | Definition of apprehensive
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apprehensive

adjective
ap¡​pre¡​hen¡​sive | \ ˌa-pri-ˈhen(t)-siv How to pronounce apprehensive (audio) \

Definition of apprehensive

1 : viewing the future with anxiety or alarm : feeling or showing fear or apprehension about the future … many adults who do not think twice about the risks of driving an automobile are apprehensive about flying.— Henry Petroski
2 : capable of understanding or quick to do so : discerning
3 : having awareness or knowledge of something : cognizant
Other Words from apprehensive Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym How has the meaning of apprehensive changed over time? More Example Sentences Learn More about apprehensive

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Other Words from apprehensive

apprehensively adverb
apprehensiveness noun

Choose the Right Synonym for apprehensive

fearful, apprehensive, afraid mean disturbed by fear. fearful implies often a timorous or worrying temperament. the child is fearful of loud noises apprehensive suggests a state of mind and implies a premonition of evil or danger. apprehensive of being found out afraid often suggests weakness or cowardice and regularly implies inhibition of action or utterance. afraid to speak the truth

How has the meaning of apprehensive changed over time?

When Shakespeare wrote in Julius Caesar “And men are flesh and blood, and apprehensive,” he was not using the word apprehensive with the meaning which we so often encounter today (“viewing the future with anxiety or alarm”). The Bard was using the word’s older meaning of “capable of understanding or quick to do so” or “showing insight and understanding.” Apprehensive has shifted its meaning considerably in the seven hundred or so years it has been inhabiting our language. Its earliest meanings had to do with apprehension, to be sure, but it was apprehension meaning “the act of learning,” (a sense that is now obsolete) or “the act or faculty or grasping with the intellect.” The words apprehensive and apprehension both have roots in the Latin words prehendere meaning “to seize.”

Examples of apprehensive in a Sentence

When the Crossroads Rhode Island social services agency switched to a 401(k) retirement plan from a pension last year, it added a feature that made some employees apprehensive. To ensure that as many employees as possible saved for retirement, the Providence nonprofit chose to automatically enroll all its workers into the 401(k) plan and deduct a minimum of 4 percent from their paychecks. — Andrew Caffrey, Boston Sunday Globe, 2 Oct. 2005 … Sargent, a shrewder character, was apprehensive about how the portrait would be viewed by the conventional crowds for whom a day out at the Salon was a social fixture in the Paris calendar. He was right. The public saw nothing lovely in this pallid, long- nosed woman with her prominent chin and superior smile. — Miranda Seymour, New York Times Book Review, 28 Sept. 2003 I arrived at my first Lamaze class the same way I showed up for my baby showers and ob-gyn appointments: a little excited, a little apprehensive, but mostly obediently, because it's what you're supposed to do when you're pregnant. — Paula Spencer, Parenting, April 1997 I'm fully apprehensive of the options, I assure you.
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Recent Examples on the Web

 For one thing, consumers themselves seem to be growing more apprehensive judging from the latest confidence measures investors track to forecast growth. — Alain Sherter, CBS News, "3 reasons the U.S. economy isn't set to fall off a cliff," 20 Aug. 2019 The dance itself, though, tended toward the serious, with gracefully fraught solos, a traditionally apprehensive pas de deux for the adulterous Paolo and Francesca, and all kinds of creatures in various states of fanciful torment. — Mark Swed, latimes.com, "Review: Thomas Adès’ spectacular ‘Inferno’ gets the Wayne McGregor and Tacita Dean touch," 14 July 2019 Now you’re apprehensive just to go outside your house at night. — Laura Mcknight, nola.com, "‘It’s heartbreaking:’ New Orleans East man killed in random shooting spree described as a community anchor," 19 June 2019 Still, the elder RossellĂł, at least initially, was apprehensive about his son's political ambitions, according to Companys. — Ray Sanchez, CNN, "The sudden downfall of one of Puerto Rico's most powerful political dynasties," 2 Aug. 2019 Butler was released last year from San Quentin State Prison, scared and apprehensive and in need of a job. — Janie Har, The Mercury News, "San Francisco curbs waste with public toilets, ‘poop patrol’," 2 Aug. 2019 The House hearing will also feature a second panel with additional expert witnesses—some who might be more optimistic, and others who are clearly apprehensive about Facebook’s crypto project. — Matthew De Silva, Quartz, "How to watch Congressional hearings on Facebook’s Libra," 15 July 2019 Some federal agents are apprehensive about arresting children and babies, the Times reported. — Loyd Brumfield, Dallas News, "Nationwide ICE raids planned for Sunday, New York Times reports," 11 July 2019 Feeling apprehensive about something stressful—even a good thing, like a promotion or wedding—is a sign that your inherent survival mechanism is working as expected. — Natasha Lavender, SELF, "This Is the Difference Between Feeling Anxious and Having an Anxiety Disorder," 16 May 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'apprehensive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of apprehensive

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

History and Etymology for apprehensive

see apprehension

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More Definitions for apprehensive

apprehensive

adjective
How to pronounce apprehensive (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of apprehensive

: afraid that something bad or unpleasant is going to happen : feeling or showing fear or apprehension about the future

See the full definition for apprehensive in the English Language Learners Dictionary

apprehensive

adjective
ap¡​pre¡​hen¡​sive | \ ˌa-pri-ˈhen-siv How to pronounce apprehensive (audio) \

Kids Definition of apprehensive

: fearful of what may be coming He was apprehensive about the surgery.

Other Words from apprehensive

apprehensively adverb

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