Basic Details
Word: Apprehension
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Worry or fear that something bad may happen. In formal use it can also mean the arrest of a criminal, or understanding.
Synonyms: anxiety, worry, unease, dread
Antonyms: confidence, calm
How to Spell Apprehension
Syllables: ap - pre - hen - sion
Tricky part: It begins with a double p and then pre, with an e. The ending is sion, not tion.
Watch out for: aprehension, apprehention, apprihension
Memory tip: Start from the verb apprehend. The d at the end turns into s before ion, the same change that turns extend into extension.
Usage Examples
Example 1: There was a feeling of apprehension in the class before the maths results.
Example 2: Neha looked up at the high diving board with apprehension.
Example 3: Despite his apprehension, Vikram stood up and gave his speech.
Fun Fact
The Latin apprehendere meant to seize or grasp. English kept both ideas: the police apprehend a thief, and a student apprehends, or grasps, an idea.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the word opposite in meaning to apprehension as used in the sentence:
The villagers watched the rising river with growing apprehension.
a) dread
b) confidence
c) unease
d) alarm
Show answer
b) confidence. Apprehension is fear of what may happen, so confidence is the opposite; dread, unease and alarm are all kinds of fear.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
appr_hen_ion
a) e, t
b) e, s
c) i, s
d) i, t
Show answer
b) e, s. Pre takes an e, and the ending is sion because the word grows out of apprehend.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
His nehpsaiopren about the new school vanished after he met his classmates.
a) apprehensive
b) apprehension
c) appreciation
d) comprehension
Show answer
b) apprehension. Apprehensive is the adjective and needs a v; after his, the noun apprehension fits.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Apprehension before an exam is a kind of ____.
a) hunger
b) joy
c) worry
d) boredom
Show answer
c) worry
2. In a police report, the apprehension of the thief means the thief was ____.
a) understood
b) frightened
c) caught
d) released
Show answer
c) caught
