apprehensive

apprehensive

See also: appréhensive

English

Adjective

apprehensive (comparative more apprehensive, superlative most apprehensive)

1. Anticipating something with anxiety or fear.
   • 1719, Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe

     [T]his convinced me that there was no going on shore for us in the night on 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 the lions and tigers; at least we were equally apprehensive of the danger of it.

2. 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.

   Synonym: quick on the uptake

Derived terms

• apprehensively

Translations

anticipating something with anxiety or fear

Bulgarian: тревожен (bg) (trevožen), загрижен (bg) (zagrižen) Catalan: aprensiu Chinese: Mandarin: 憂慮 (zh), 忧虑 (zh) (yōulǜ) Czech: znepokojený m, obávající se, úzkostný, obezřetný m Dutch: bezorgd (nl) Finnish: levoton (fi), huolestunut (fi) French: soucieux (fr), appréhensif (fr), inquiet (fr) Galician: aprehensivo m, aprehensiva f German: besorgt (de) Japanese: 不安な (ja) (ふあんな, fuan na), 気遣う (きづかう, kizukau), 恐れる (ja) (おそれる, osoreru)

Korean: 우려하는 (uryeohaneun) (憂慮하는), 염려하는 (ko) (yeomnyeohaneun) (念慮하는) Latin: praementuens Maori: manawakino, mānukanuka, whakapūhana, whakaririka, anipā Polish: strwożony Portuguese: apreensivo (pt) Russian: опаса́ющийся (ru) (opasájuščijsja), насторо́женный (ru) m (nastoróžennyj), боязли́вый (ru) m (bojazlívyj), встрево́женный (ru) m (vstrevóžennyj) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: за̀бринӯт Roman: zàbrinūt (sh) m Spanish: aprensivo, inquieto (es) Swedish: orolig (sv), ängslig (sv)

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

Chinese: Mandarin: 聪明 (zh) Czech: chápající, vnímavý m French: vif (fr), perspicace (fr) 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: 이해가 빠른 (ihaega ppareun) (理解가 빠른), 총명한 (ko) (chongmyeonghan) (聰明한)

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) m, ȍštroūman (sh) m, inteligèntan (sh) m, pronìcljiv (sh)