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misgiving

misgiving

27 5.9
A feeling of doubt or worry about whether something will turn out well
  • noun
  • /ˌmɪsˈɡɪvɪŋ/
translation icon : duda
  • She expressed her misgivings about the project's feasibility during the meeting.
  • express misgivings
  • serious misgivings
  • few misgivings

So the enthusiast in me has some serious misgivings about this move for the NAND storage industry.

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Examples

  • It's just getting past your own misgivings about doing something new.

  • I have some severe misgivings about the claims that get made in this kind of research.

  • Now, I do have some misgivings about their water block design.

  • I may have mentioned certain misgivings, in confidence.

  • I know you have expressed misgivings about the steel business.

  • Kelly related what became a lifetime of misgivings about network news.

    Academic text (2017)
  • But what I hope to see is that they begin to have misgivings about wanting the money.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Holdt has had serious misgivings about the way he feels American Pictures has been received.

    Academic text (2000)
  • I think you're probably right that a lot of Europeans have deep misgivings about this.

  • When the grandmother died ten years ago, the grandfather returned with misgivings to his ancestral village outside Paris.

    Fiction book (1998)

Synonyms

doubt
vsmisgiving
1.6

A feeling of not being sure about something

adds worry and unease about outcomes, not just lack of conviction
question
vsmisgiving
2.7

A feeling of doubt about whether something is true

includes worry and unease about whether something will have a good result
reservation
vsmisgiving
73 4.8

A feeling of doubt that makes you hesitate to agree

is a general uneasy feeling rather than a specific hesitation to act
distrust
vsmisgiving
58 3.5

A feeling that someone or something cannot be relied on

is about uneasy feelings and worry rather than an active lack of trust
little faith
vsmisgiving
37 6.4

A feeling of not trusting people or plans much

focuses more on worried judgment about rightness than on trust issues
qualm
vsmisgiving
35 8.4

A feeling of doubt or unease about whether you are doing the right thing

is a broader worry about outcomes and correctness rather than moral concern
mistrust
vsmisgiving
34 4.0

A feeling of not trusting someone or something

centres on inner unease about correctness and future outcomes rather than suspicion
apprehension
vsmisgiving
32 4.4

A feeling of fear or worry that something bad may happen

is less about fear and more about doubt and uneasy judgment
disquiet
vsmisgiving
4 7.4

A feeling of worry or unease

is a specific uneasy feeling tied to rightness and future results
hesitance
vsmisgiving
3 5.3

A short pause before doing or saying something because you feel unsure

is more about inner worry whether something is right or will work
moments of doubt
vsmisgiving
2 4.3

Short times when a person feels unsure about a choice or situation

is often longer and includes worry about rightness and outcome
cloud of uncertainty
vsmisgiving
1 6.7

A feeling of doubt and worry about what will happen

is a single uneasy feeling about correctness or likely outcome
unsureness
vsmisgiving
3.8

A feeling of doubt or low confidence

adds a sense of worry about whether things will turn out well
dubiety
vsmisgiving
  • Formal
9.9

A feeling of doubt or uncertainty about something

focuses more on anxious concern about whether something is right or will succeed
doubtfulness
vsmisgiving
5.5

A feeling of not being sure about something

carries extra emotional unease about the plan's correctness or outcome
incertitude
vsmisgiving
  • Formal
8.9

A feeling of not being sure or confident about something

adds worried feeling about potential negative results or wrongness
apprehensiveness
vsmisgiving
7.4

A feeling of worry or fear about something that might happen

leans more toward questioning correctness and likely outcomes than fear

Antonyms

203 2.2

A belief that things will turn out well

33 3.3

A feeling of confidence in your own abilities

How Worried

panic
394 2.7
alarm
159 2.3
concern
1.5
misgiving
27 5.9
reservation
73 4.8
hesitation
110 2.8

Surface Forms

misgiving singular
misgivings plural

Morphology

misgiving = misgive (semi-transparent) = mis + give + ing

The noun is a regular deverbal formation from 'misgive' by adding -ing, but the resulting meaning 'a feeling of doubt' is not obviously deducible from 'mis-' + 'give' for many learners.

Etymology

The word misgiving combines mis- ('wrong' or 'bad') and give, the everyday word 'give', so it paints a picture of a 'bad giving' — a small gift of doubt or worry. So, a misgiving is a feeling of doubt or worry about something.