worry
Part of speech: verb
noun
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: From Middle English worien, werien, wirien, wirwen, wyryȝen (“to choke, strangle”), from Old English wyrġan, from Proto-Germanic *wurgijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *werǵʰ- (“bind, squeeze”).
Cognate with Dutch worgen, wurgen, German würgen. Compare Latin urgere (“to press, push”), Sanskrit वृहति (vṛhati, “to tear out, pluck”), Lithuanian ver̃žti (“to string; squeeze”), Russian (poetic) отверза́ть (otverzátʹ, “to open”, literally “to untie”). Related to wring.
Inflected forms:
form: worries
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: worrying
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: worried
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: worried
pos: verb
tags: past
form: worries
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: To be troubled; to give way to mental anxiety or doubt.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: So you go along for a long time / And nothing seems to worry your mind / But what it adds up to / It's the side effect / That finally gets to you
gloss: Disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress; to exercise.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: Your tone of voice worries me.
That worries the government, which fears that environmental activism could become the foundation for more general political opposition.
gloss: To harass; to irritate or distress.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: The President was worried into military action by persistent advisors.
gloss: To seize or shake by the throat, especially of a dog or wolf.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: Your dog’s been worrying sheep again.
This is the Dog, that worried the Cat, that killed the Rat, that ate the Malt, that lay in the Houſe that Jack built.
gloss: To touch repeatedly; to fiddle with.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: Christian paced the caravan, worrying his beard.
So what if I wanted to touch my nose to the windshield? Who was it hurting? Why was it that he could repeatedly worry his change and bite his lower lip without the threat of punishment?
No stories, no arguments. He just worries his prayer beads.
gloss: To strangle.
pos: verb
tags: Scotland
obsolete
transitive
examples: We read (Law's Memor. Pref. lix.) that "one John Brugh, a notorious warlock (wizard) in the parochin of Fossoquhy, by the space of thirty-six years, was worried at a stake and burned, 1643."
gloss: A strong feeling of anxiety.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: I'm afflicted by worry throughout the night.
"Worry never solved any problems. Only gives you ulcers."
gloss: An instance or cause of such a feeling.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: My main worry is that I'll miss the train.
gloss: A person who causes worry.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: They could never make him speak a word, although he was old enough, in short, he was a perfect worry night and day.
Derived words: beworry
don't worry
don't worry your pretty little head
not to worry
worried
worry along
worry back
worry down
worry someone sick
a worry shared is a worry halved
muffin worry
sick with worry
worrisome
worry beads
worry-free
worryful
worryless
worry line
worry stone
worry-wart
Translations: