: to feel or express anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity : to experience or express angst
"… all that time spent agonizing, angsting, and wasted in so many ways, feeling crappy and not writing … ." Zsuzsi Gartner
And there was a whiff of "first-world problems" about two not particularly likeable characters angsting to each other in a trendy-looking gastropub. Jeff Robson
—often used with over or about
Yet now we have a Superman who angsts about not having human connections (his marriage to Lois never happened now) and mopes around quite a bit. Corrina LawsonWe boomers have moved on to mortgages and taxes, angsting over our teenagers and tending to the first signs of ailments apt to drag us down more quickly than we'd like to admit. Robert Benjamin
Example Sentences
NounThe winner of France's prestigious Prix de Flore, "Report on Myself" is a study in raw angst and mortifying self-disclosure: a portrait of the artist as a lover who just can't catch a break. Caroline Weber, New York Times Book Review, 15 Feb. 2009Adapting Alicia Erian's novel, writer-director Alan Ball showcases both the knack for sketching out thorny relationships that distinguished Six Feet Under and the impulse for … suburban angst that befouled his script for American Beauty. Troy Patterson, Spin, September 2008The retail category, of course, has been a source of angst among newspapers for some time. Retail ad volume in papers has declined for much of the past 15 years, according to Merrill Lynch research. Lucia Moses et al., Editor & Publisher, 8 Oct. 2001One way to increase these health benefits is to learn how to write more fluidly and with less angst and frustration. When you're engaged with what you're doing, the rest of the world recedes. Susan H. Perry, Psychology Today, November/December 2001 a film about teenage angst
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
That’s why the Chicago White Sox need manager Tony La Russa back in the dugout for the end of this journey that has included more ups and downs, more ridiculous drama and more fan angst than any season in recent memory. Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2022 The age range is preteen to early 80s, so our planners had to factor mobility issues and teen angst into the equation. Donna Bulseco, WSJ, 2 Sep. 2022 Leading up to the country club talent show, micro-conflicts abound, lots of teen angst ensues and several show-stopping numbers are performed by the returning ensemble. Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2022 But DeSantis was touching on a growing angst over prosecutors seen as light on crime at a time when homicides have risen in many cities, including Tampa. Lori Rozsa, Washington Post, 14 Aug. 2022 As angst in China’s real estate and credit markets spreads, Evergrande’s next steps will be scrutinized all the more. Alice Huang, BostonGlobe.com, 24 July 2022 There was no great angst from United fans at seeing any of these players leave, and the club themselves want a leaner squad for next season, but so far none of them have been replaced. Sam Pilger, Forbes, 11 July 2022 Come for the romance and humor and late-millennial angst; stay for the profound emotional transcendence of its final scenes. Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 28 June 2022 That's forced central banks to more aggressively withdraw support for the economy, generating angst on Wall Street. Julia Horowitz, CNN, 28 June 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun
borrowed from German Angst, going back to Middle High German angest, going back to Old High German angust "distress, worry, anxiety," going back to West Germanic *angusti- (whence also Old Frisian ongesta, ongosta "anxiety, danger," Middle Dutch anxt, anxte), derivative, with a noun suffix *-ti- or *-sti-, of the Germanic base *angu- seen in Old English enge "narrow," ange "distressing," Old High German ango "anxious" — more at anger entry 1
Note: If the suffix in question is *-ti-, then the element *angus- is perhaps directly comparable with the s-stem noun reflected in Latin angor "suffocation, anguish," Sanskrit áṁhaḥ "anxiety, trouble" (see anger entry 1) or Latin angustus "narrow" (see anguish entry 1).