angst

1 of 2

noun

ˈäŋ(k)st  ˈaŋ(k)st 

: a feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity

teenage angst

angst

2 of 2

verb

angsted; angsting; angsts

intransitive verb

: to feel or express anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity : to experience or express angst

"… all that time spent agonizing, angsting, and wasted in so many ways, feeling crappy and not writing … ."

—Zsuzsi Gartner

And there was a whiff of "first-world problems" about two not particularly likeable characters angsting to each other in a trendy-looking gastropub.

—Jeff Robson

—often used with over or about

Yet now we have a Superman who angsts about not having human connections (his marriage to Lois never happened now) and mopes around quite a bit.

—Corrina Lawson

We boomers have moved on to mortgages and taxes, angsting over our teenagers and tending to the first signs of ailments apt to drag us down more quickly than we'd like to admit.

—Robert Benjamin

Examples of angst in a Sentence

Noun

The winner of France's prestigious Prix de Flore, "Report on Myself" is a study in raw angst and mortifying self-disclosure: a portrait of the artist as a lover who just can't catch a break. —Caroline Weber, New York Times Book Review, 15 Feb. 2009

Adapting Alicia Erian's novel, writer-director Alan Ball showcases both the knack for sketching out thorny relationships that distinguished Six Feet Under and the impulse for … suburban angst that befouled his script for American Beauty. —Troy Patterson, Spin, September 2008

The retail category, of course, has been a source of angst among newspapers for some time. Retail ad volume in papers has declined for much of the past 15 years, according to Merrill Lynch research. —Lucia Moses et al., Editor & Publisher, 8 Oct. 2001

One way to increase these health benefits is to learn how to write more fluidly and with less angst and frustration. When you're engaged with what you're doing, the rest of the world recedes. —Susan H. Perry, Psychology Today, November/December 2001

a film about teenage angst

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Golden Bachelorette Joan Vassos had 'angst' about asking for major Fantasy Suites change First, Joan and Guy swam with literal sharks, and then Joan and Chock zipped through the jungle on ATVs! —Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 31 Oct. 2024

The unresolved angst facing HCA was clear at a recent San Jose Planning Commission meeting, where the advisory body recommended that the City Council deny its request to rezone Good Samaritan’s campus to build a new facility in compliance with state seismic laws and expand operations. —Devan Patel, The Mercury News, 30 Oct. 2024

Verb

The recent inflation crisis has given Americans angst about the economy, and recent CNN polls show that many people believe the US economy is headed in the wrong direction. —Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 16 May 2024

Fans reflect the roller coaster that can bring both thrills and nausea, their premature gloating or wailing and angst all over social media. —Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 9 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from German Angst, going back to Middle High German angest, going back to Old High German angust "distress, worry, anxiety," going back to West Germanic *angusti- (whence also Old Frisian ongesta, ongosta "anxiety, danger," Middle Dutch anxt, anxte), derivative, with a noun suffix *-ti- or *-sti-, of the Germanic base *angu- seen in Old English enge "narrow," ange "distressing," Old High German ango "anxious" — more at anger entry 1

Note: If the suffix in question is *-ti-, then the element *angus- is perhaps directly comparable with the s-stem noun reflected in Latin angor "suffocation, anguish," Sanskrit áṁhaḥ "anxiety, trouble" (see anger entry 1) or Latin angustus "narrow" (see anguish entry 1).

Verb

derivative of angst entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1872, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1988, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

angst

noun

ˈäŋ(k)st  ˈaŋ(k)st 

: a feeling of anxiety : dread

angsty

ˈaŋ(k)-stē

ˈäŋ(k)-

adjective