rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryangstDeep anxiety
noun

angst

ANGST/æŋst/

A feeling of deep anxiety or troubled unease.

The novel captures the angst of a student uncertain about the future.

An older Latino man sits alone on the edge of a plain chair, leaning forward with tightly clasped hands, raised shoulders, and a troubled, distant gaze, conveying deep inward anxiety rather than a reaction to an immediate danger.
Etymology
angstGermanfear, anxiety

German Angst already meant fear and anxiety; its psychological use also encompassed guilt and remorse. That range of inward distress carries into English angst as deep emotional unease.

In context

ClassicistORG24:44
the mood was somber and pervaded by anxiety – what sociologists call ‘existential angst’.
How Architecture Evolved from the Baroque Period to Now: A Survey of Classical Architecture, Part IV

More examples

  • His joking tone cannot hide his underlying angst.
  • The lyrics are full of youthful angst.
  • She writes about the angst of feeling directionless after graduation.

Similar words

anxiety
The broader term for worry or apprehension.
unease
Usually suggests less intense or less existential discomfort.