trepidation
/ˌtɹɛp.ɪˈdeɪ.ʃən/
trepidation means anxiety over the uncertain future or possible ill-occurrence. It carries an Arena rating of 1777, earned across 8 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, trepidation ranks #973 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #1,880 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,715 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #3,981 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words.
trepidation is pronounced /ˌtɹɛp.ɪˈdeɪ.ʃən/.
Why “trepidation” is a great word
A visceral, trembling agitation about something that may happen. From the Latin *trepidātiō* ("agitation, alarm"), from *trepidō* ("to be agitated, to tremble"), first recorded in English c. 1600. Unlike "apprehension" (which suggests a more intellectual anticipation of future trouble) or "terror" (which denotes an overwhelming, immediate, and often paralyzing fear), trepidation is the body's tremulous rehearsal—an uneven pulse at the foot of a dark staircase, the cold palm pressed to a door before opening it, the caught breath before the envelope is opened. It is the ancient, mammalian vibration that recognizes danger before the mind has fully named it.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin trepidātiō, from trepidō (“be agitated”).
noun
- Anxiety over the uncertain future or possible ill-occurrence.e.g.“I decided, with considerable trepidation, to let him drive my car without me.”
- An involuntary trembling, sometimes an effect of paralysis, but usually caused by terror or fear.
- A libration of the starry sphere in the Ptolemaic system; a motion ascribed to the firmament, to account for certain small changes in the position of the ecliptic and of the stars.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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