to worry

Examples

• All

• It always makes me worry when I hear unusual noises at night.

• It's nothing to worry about.

  Rampage (1987)

• It's got me worried sick.

  Double Indemnity (1944)

• Yeah, well, maybe you should worry about Mum instead.

  Back to Black (2024)

• As a result of the trauma, families worried about having another baby.

  Academic text (2015)

• She told me not to worry, he'll come back, he always does.

• Don't worry, we'll find him.

  The Wrath of Becky (2023)

• Don't worry, just try again.

  Jacket (2018)

• Rational women should continue to worry about that financial risk; doubtless many of them do.

  Academic text (2008)

• We've got far more important things to worry about than her disappearing.

  Werewolf Cabal (2022)

Synonyms

U

to upset

vsto worry

273 1.0

Make someone feel sad or worried

focuses more narrowly on creating anxious concern about problems rather than general emotional disturbance

C

to concern

vsto worry

77 2.7

To make someone feel worried or interested

is more about making someone anxious about specific possible or actual problems

F

to fret

vsto worry

58 4.2

Make someone feel worried or annoyed about small things

applies to causing concern about real or potential problems broadly, not only minor issues

A

to alarm

vsto worry

47 1.9

To make someone feel afraid or worried about possible danger

centres on troubling someone about real or potential problems without adding fear emphasis

H

to hang over someone's head

vsto worry

22 7.6

Keep someone worried about something bad that might happen

is broader, applying to anxiety about many kinds of actual or possible problems

N

to nag

vsto worry

20 3.9

To feel a small, constant worry that bothers you

is not about persistence but about causing anxiety tied to problems

W

to weigh on someone's mind

vsto worry

6 6.0

To make someone feel worried for a long time

focuses on causing anxiety about particular present or future problems rather than only duration

K

to keep someone on edge

vsto worry

• Informal

4 7.4

Make someone feel nervous and unsure about what will happen

relates specifically to making someone anxious about actual or potential problems, not excitement

P

to perturb

vsto worry

1 7.0

To make someone feel worried or uneasy

is more about causing concern over specific present or future problems

D

to disquiet

vsto worry

1 7.3

To make someone feel worried or uneasy

is more about causing concern tied to concrete or potential problems than general unease

C

to cark

vsto worry

• Archaic

1 9.9

To make someone feel worried or uneasy

uses everyday focus on actual or possible problems rather than archaic tone

W

to worrit

vsto worry

• UK

9.9

To make someone feel nervous or upset

is focused specifically on causing concern about actual or possible problems

Antonyms

C

to comfort

172 1.0

To make someone feel less upset or in pain

R

to reassure

123 3.4

To make someone feel less worried and more confident

Idioms

W

what, me worry

• Archaic

1 9.9

To say you do not care about something in a playful way

Phrasal Verbs

W

to worry about

∞ 2.0

Feel afraid about what might happen to someone or something

How Worried

to terrify

63 3.2

to alarm

47 1.9

to worry

187 1.0

to trouble

128 1.8

to bother

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

Etymology