English Explanatory Dictionary

angst

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Emotional turmoil; painful sadness; anguish.
  2. A feeling of acute but vague anxiety or apprehension often accompanied by depression, especially philosophical anxiety.
  3. Fiction focusing on characters experiencing strong emotions and conflicts with other characters.
verb
  1. To suffer angst; to fret.

Pronunciation

/ˈæŋ(k)st/ [ˈæŋ(k)st] en-au-angst.ogg /ˈeɪ̯ŋ(k)st/ [ˈeɪ̯ŋ(k)st] /ˈɛ̃ŋ(k)st/ [ˈɛ̃ŋ(k)st] en-us-angst.ogg

Word forms

angst angsts angsting angsted

Etymology

Borrowed from German Angst or Danish angst; attested since the 19th century in English translations of the works of Søren Kierkegaard. Initially capitalized (as in German and contemporaneous Danish), the term first began to be written with a lowercase "a" around 1940–44. The German and Danish terms both derive from Middle High German angest, from Old High German angust, from Proto-Germanic *angustiz; Dutch angst is cognate. Compare Swedish ångest.

Derived words

angst bunny angstbunny angster angstfic angstful angstless angst-ridden angsty eco-angst Mulderangst Scullyangst technoangst wangst
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