worry

Definition

To be troubled; to give way to mental anxiety or doubt.

Etymology

From Middle English worien, werien, wirien, wirwen, wyryȝen (“to choke, strangle”), from Old English wyrġan, from Proto-Germanic *wurgijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *werǵʰ- (“bind, squeeze”). Cognate with Dutch worgen, wurgen, German würgen. Compare Latin urgere (“to press, push”), Sanskrit वृहति (vṛhati, “to tear out, pluck”), Lithuanian ver̃žti (“to string; squeeze”), Russian (poetic) отверза́ть (otverzátʹ, “to open”, literally “to untie”). Related to wring.

Example Sentences

• "So you go along for a long time / And nothing seems to worry your mind / But what it adds up to / It's the side effect / That finally gets to you"
• "Your tone of voice worries me."
• "That worries the government, which fears that environmental activism could become the foundation for more general political opposition."