apprehensive

See also: appréhensive

English

Etymology

From Latin apprehensīvus, from apprehensus, perfect passive participle of apprehendō (“to apprehend, understand, learn”) + -īvus (“-ive”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌæpɹɪˈhɛnsɪv/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adjective

apprehensive (comparative more apprehensive, superlative most apprehensive)

1. Anticipating something with anxiety, fear, or doubt; reluctant.
   • 1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, page 28:

     This convinc'd me that there was no going on Shore for us in the Night upon that Coaſt, and how to venture on Shore in the Day was another Queſtion too; for to have fallen into the Hands of any of the Savages, had been as bad as to have fallen into the Hands of Lyons and Tygers; at leaſt we were equally apprehenſive of the Danger of it.

   • 1888–1891, Herman Melville, “[Billy Budd, Foretopman.] Chapter XI.”, in Billy Budd and Other Stories, London: John Lehmann, published 1951, →OCLC, pages 256–257:

     But Claggart's was no vulgar form of the passion. Nor, as directed toward Billy Budd, did it partake of that streak of apprehensive jealousy that marred Saul's visage perturbedly brooding on the comely young David. Claggart's envy struck deeper.

   • 1947 August, “Death Thumbs A Ride”, in Crime Does Not Pay‎^[1], number 54, page 45:

     Never before in his life had Dan Holland feared anything, but now he was apprehensive for the safety of this trim blond creature before him.

2. (obsolete) Perceptive; quick to learn; capable of understanding using one's intellect.
   • 1670, John Milton, History of Britain:

     More fond of Miracles, than apprehensive of Truth.

Derived terms

• apprehensively
• apprehensiveness
• inapprehensive
• misapprehensive
• overapprehensive
• unapprehensive

 

Translations

anticipating something with anxiety or fear

• Bulgarian: тревожен (bg) (trevožen), загрижен (bg) (zagrižen)
• Catalan: aprensiu
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 憂慮／忧虑 (zh) (yōulǜ), 恐懼／恐惧 (zh) (kǒngjù)

• Czech: znepokojený m, obávající se, úzkostný m, obezřetný (cs) m
• Dutch: bezorgd (nl)
• Finnish: levoton (fi), huolestunut (fi)
• French: soucieux (fr), appréhensif (fr), inquiet (fr)
• Galician: aprehensivo
• German: besorgt (de), ängstlich (de), bedenklich (de), beklommen (de)
• Hungarian: aggódó (hu), nyugtalan (hu), aggodalmas (hu)
• Japanese: 不安な (ja) (ふあんな, fuan na), 気遣う (ja) (きづかう, kizukau), 恐れる (ja) (おそれる, osoreru)
• Korean: 우려(憂慮)하다 (uryeohada), 염려(念慮)하다 (ko) (yeomnyeohada)
• Latin: praementuens
• Macedonian: за́грижен (zágrižen), тре́вожен (trévožen), пла́шлив (plášliv), пре́тпазлив (prétpazliv)
• Maori: manawakino, mānukanuka, whakapūhana, whakaririka, anipā
• Norwegian: engstelig (no), urolig (no)
• Plautdietsch: beklommen
• Polish: strwożony, zaniepokojony (pl) m, zatroskany (pl) m, niespokojny (pl) m
• Portuguese: apreensivo (pt), receoso (pt)
• Russian: опаса́ющийся (ru) (opasájuščijsja), насторо́женный (ru) (nastoróžennyj), боязли́вый (ru) (bojazlívyj), встрево́женный (ru) (vstrevóžennyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: за̀бринӯт

  Roman: zàbrinūt (sh)

• Spanish: aprensivo, inquieto (es)
• Swedish: orolig (sv), ängslig (sv)
• Turkish: endişeli (tr), tedirgin (tr)

perceptive; quick to learn; intelligent; capable of grasping with the mind or intellect

• Bulgarian: съобразителен (bg) (sǎobrazitelen)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 善於領會的／善于领会的 (shànyú lǐnghuì de), 反應敏銳的／反应敏锐的 (fǎnyìng mǐnruì de)

• Czech: chápající, vnímavý m
• Finnish: terävä-älyinen (fi), tarkkanäköinen (fi), älykäs (fi)
• French: vif (fr), perspicace (fr)
• German: gewieft (de), lernfähig (de), scharfsinnig (de)
• Hungarian: értelmes (hu), jó felfogású, éles eszű
• Japanese: 理解が早い (りかいがはやい, rikai ga hayai), 明敏な (ja) (めいびんな, meibin na)
• Korean: 이해(理解)가 빠른 (ihae-ga ppareun), 총명(聰明)한 (ko) (chongmyeonghan)
• Macedonian: про́никлив (prónikliv), остро́умен (ostróumen)
• Polish: pojętny (pl) m
• Portuguese: apreensivo (pt)
• Russian: сообрази́тельный (ru) (soobrazítelʹnyj), поня́тливый (ru) (ponjátlivyj), смышлёный (ru) (smyšljónyj), проница́тельный (ru) (pronicátelʹnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: пронѝцав, о̏штроӯман, интелигѐнтан, пронѝцљив

  Roman: pronìcav (sh), ȍštroūman (sh), inteligèntan (sh), pronìcljiv (sh)

• Turkish: kıvrak zekâlı, çabuk kavrayan

Noun

apprehensive (uncountable)

1. (grammar) A mood indicating an undesired outcome.
   • 2003, Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald, “16 - Mood and modality”, in A Grammar of Tariana, from Northwest Amazonia‎^[2], Cambridge University Press, →DOI, →ISBN, page 384:

     In 16.66 the non-visual apprehensive is used with the third-person.