Basic Details
Word: Anxiously
Part of Speech: Adverb
Meaning: In a worried, nervous way, especially while waiting for news or for something to happen.
Synonyms: nervously, uneasily, worriedly, apprehensively
Antonyms: calmly, confidently
How to Spell Anxiously
Syllables: anx - ious - ly
Tricky part: After the x comes ious, and the i is easy to forget (anxously). There is no s or sh before the i, whatever the sound suggests.
Watch out for: anxously, anxiosly, anxshiously
Memory tip: Write the whole of anxious first, with ious as in curious and furious, then simply add ly. Nothing is dropped.
Usage Examples
Example 1: We waited anxiously outside the hall for the results to be put up.
Example 2: Mother kept looking anxiously at the clock as the rain got heavier.
Example 3: The goalkeeper glanced anxiously at the referee after the tackle.
Fun Fact
Anxious and anxiety come from the Latin anxius, which is linked to angere, to choke or squeeze. That fits the tight feeling in the chest of a worried person.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Only one of these root words takes the suffix ly to make a real word. Choose it.
a) worry
b) anxious
c) fear
d) anxiety
Show answer
b) anxious. Anxious + ly gives anxiously; anxietyly, worryly and fearly are not words, which is why we say worriedly and fearfully.
Word Connection
Choose the word opposite in meaning to anxiously as used in the sentence:
The farmer watched the dark clouds anxiously, hoping the hail would spare his wheat.
a) calmly
b) nervously
c) fretfully
d) uneasily
Show answer
a) calmly. Watching anxiously means watching with worry, so calmly is the opposite; the other three show worry too.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
On the morning of the board exam the students stood anxously near the gate while the invigilators checked each admit card.
a) anxously
b) morning
c) students
d) invigilators
Show answer
a) anxously. Anxiously keeps the i of anxious: anx-i-ous-ly.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Someone who waits anxiously is feeling ____.
a) sleepy
b) worried
c) delighted
d) bored
Show answer
b) worried
2. Which noun comes from the same root as anxiously?
a) anxiety
b) annex
c) angle
d) answer
Show answer
a) anxiety
