apprehension

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ap·pre·hen·sion

(ăp′rĭ-hĕn′shən)

1. Fearful or uneasy anticipation of the future; dread. See Synonyms at fear.

2. The act of seizing or capturing; arrest.

3. The ability to apprehend or understand; understanding.

[Middle English apprehencioun, perception, from Old French apprehension, from Late Latin apprehēnsiō, apprehēnsiōn-, from Latin apprehēnsus, past participle of apprehendere, to seize; see apprehend.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

apprehension

(ˌæprɪˈhɛnʃən)

1. fear or anxiety over what may happen

2. (Law) the act of capturing or arresting

3. the faculty of comprehending; understanding

4. a notion or conception

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ap•pre•hen•sion

(ˌæp rɪˈhɛn ʃən)

n.

1. suspicion or fear of future trouble; foreboding.

2. the faculty or act of understanding or perceiving.

3. a view, opinion, or idea on any subject.

4. the act of arresting; seizure.

[1350–1400; Middle English (< Old French) < Late Latin apprehēnsiō]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	apprehension - fearful expectation or anticipation; "the student looked around the examination room with apprehension" apprehensiveness, dread fear, fearfulness, fright - an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight) trepidation - a feeling of alarm or dread boding, foreboding, premonition, presentiment - a feeling of evil to come; "a steadily escalating sense of foreboding"; "the lawyer had a presentiment that the judge would dismiss the case" suspense - apprehension about what is going to happen gloom, gloominess, somberness, sombreness - a feeling of melancholy apprehension pall, chill - a sudden numbing dread
	2.	apprehension - the cognitive condition of someone who understands; "he has virtually no understanding of social cause and effect" discernment, savvy, understanding knowing - a clear and certain mental apprehension comprehension - an ability to understand the meaning or importance of something (or the knowledge acquired as a result); "how you can do that is beyond my comprehension"; "he was famous for his comprehension of American literature" self-knowledge - an understanding of yourself and your goals and abilities smattering - a slight or superficial understanding of a subject appreciation, grasp, hold - understanding of the nature or meaning or quality or magnitude of something; "he has a good grasp of accounting practices" grasping - understanding with difficulty; "the lecture was beyond his most strenuous graspings" hindsight - understanding the nature of an event after it has happened; "hindsight is always better than foresight" brainstorm, brainwave, insight - the clear (and often sudden) understanding of a complex situation realization, realisation, recognition - coming to understand something clearly and distinctly; "a growing realization of the risk involved"; "a sudden recognition of the problem he faced"; "increasing recognition that diabetes frequently coexists with other chronic diseases"
	3.	apprehension - painful expectation misgiving expectation, outlook, prospect - belief about (or mental picture of) the future
	4.	apprehension - the act of apprehending (especially apprehending a criminal); "the policeman on the beat got credit for the collar" arrest, taking into custody, pinch, collar, catch capture, gaining control, seizure - the act of forcibly dispossessing an owner of property

apprehension

noun

1. anxiety, concern, fear, worry, doubt, alarm, suspicion, dread, unease, mistrust, misgiving, disquiet, premonition, trepidation, foreboding, uneasiness, pins and needles, apprehensiveness It reflects real anger and apprehension about the future.
anxiety confidence, assurance, composure, serenity, nonchalance, unconcern

2. arrest, catching, capture, taking, seizure information leading to the apprehension of the alleged killer
arrest release, liberation, discharge

3. awareness, understanding, knowledge, intelligence, ken, perception, grasp, comprehension the sudden apprehension of something
awareness incomprehension

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

apprehension

noun

1. Great agitation and anxiety caused by the expectation or the realization of danger:

affright, alarm, dread, fear, fearfulness, fright, funk, horror, panic, terror, trepidation.

Slang: cold feet.

Idiom: fear and trembling.

2. A seizing and holding by law:

arrest, seizure.

Slang: bust, collar, pickup, pinch.

3. Intellectual hold:

comprehension, grasp, grip, hold, understanding.

Informal: savvy.

Translations

خَوففَـهْـم

chápáníobavaporozumění

ængstelseforståelsefrygt

Befürchtung Besorgnis Verständnis

aprensión comprensión percepción temor

huolipelko

appréhension arrestation compréhension crainte anxiété

aggódásfelfogás

ótti, kvíîiskilningur

apprensione arresto frutto timore

angst arrestatie begrijpen begrip gezichtspunt

frykt

anlayış endişe korku

忧虑理解畏惧

apprehension

[ˌæprɪˈhenʃən] N

1. (= fear) → aprensión f, temor m
she was filled with apprehension at the prospect → le invadía el temor ante esa perspectiva
my chief apprehension is that → mi mayor temor es que + subjun

2. (frm) (= awareness) → comprensión f

3. (frm) (= arrest) → detención f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

apprehension

[ˌæprɪˈhɛnʃ^ən] n

(= arrest) [suspect, criminal, offender, murderer, culprit] → appréhension f

(= fear) [fact, risk] → inquiétude f
in apprehension → par crainte
to tremble with apprehension → trembler de crainte
She trembled with apprehension → Elle tremblait de crainte.

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

apprehension

(= fear) → Besorgnis f, → Befürchtung f; a feeling of apprehension → eine dunkle Ahnung or Befürchtung; she felt a moment of apprehension → sie war einen Moment lang beklommen or voller Befürchtungen

(= arrest) → Festnahme f

(old, form: = understanding) → Erkennen nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

apprehension

[ˌæprɪˈhɛnʃ/ən] n

a. (fear) → apprensione f, inquietudine f
my chief apprehension is ... → la mia paura più grande è...

b. (arrest) → arresto

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

apprehend

(apriˈhend) verb

1. to arrest. The police apprehended the thief.

2. to understand.

ˌappreˈhension (-ʃən) noun

1. fear.

2. understanding.

ˌappreˈhensive (-siv) adjective

anxious; worried. an apprehensive expression.

ˌappreˈhensively adverb

ˌappreˈhensiveness noun

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

Instead of their being "joined in affection" and free from all apprehension of different "interests," envy and jealousy would soon extinguish confidence and affection, and the partial interests of each confederacy, instead of the general interests of all America, would be the only objects of their policy and pursuits.

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There was nothing cheerful and joyous in the feeling; on the contrary, it was a new torture of apprehension. It was the consciousness of a new sphere of liability to pain.

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When he stepped upon the ground with his feet, I thought the earth trembled, just as it had done before in the earthquake, and all the air looked, to my apprehension, as if it had been filled with flashes of fire.

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Suddenly he found himself confronted by a dreadful figure clad in a shroud, whose pallor and stony eyes smote him with a horrible apprehension.

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To facilitate our correct apprehension of his meaning, he at first condensed his ideas into the smallest possible compass.

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The slow days drifted on, and each left behind it a slightly lightened weight of apprehension.

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Her mother first perceived the alteration in the shape of Molly; and in order to hide it from her neighbours, she foolishly clothed her in that sack which Sophia had sent her; though, indeed, that young lady had little apprehension that the poor woman would have been weak enough to let any of her daughters wear it in that form.

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The mother played her accompaniments and at the same time watched her daughter with greedy admiration and nervous apprehension. She need have had no apprehension.

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The first day had been, on the whole, as I have expressed, reassuring; but I was to see it wind up in keen apprehension. The postbag, that evening--it came late--contained a letter for me, which, however, in the hand of my employer, I found to be composed but of a few words enclosing another, addressed to himself, with a seal still unbroken.

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The sky was bright and the wind fair, nor had we the least apprehension of the danger into which we were falling, but with the utmost carelessness and jollity held on our course.

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It appears that Massachusetts found it necessary to raise troops for repressing the disorders within that State; that Pennsylvania, from the mere apprehension of commotions among a part of her citizens, has thought proper to have recourse to the same measure.

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These are cases where the most useful intelligence may be obtained, if the persons possessing it can be relieved from apprehensions of discovery.