different between fright vs anxiety

English

Pronunciation

• (US) enPR: fr?t, IPA^(key): /f?a?t/
• Rhymes: -a?t
• (Canada, Northern US) IPA^(key): /f??it/

Etymology 1

From Middle English fright, furht, from Old English fryhtu, fyrhto (“fright, fear, dread, trembling, horrible sight”), from Proto-Germanic *furht?? (“fear”), from Proto-Indo-European *pr?k- (“to fear”).

Cognate with Scots fricht (“fright”), Old Frisian fruchte (“fright”), Low German frucht (“fright”), Middle Dutch vrucht, German Furcht (“fear, fright”), Danish frygt (“fear”), Swedish fruktan (“fear, fright, dread”), Gothic ???????????????????????????????? (faurhtei, “fear, horror, fright”). Compare possibly Albanian frikë (“fear, fright, dread, danger”).

Noun

fright (countable and uncountable, plural frights)

1. A state of terror excited by the sudden appearance of danger; sudden and violent fear, usually of short duration; a sudden alarm.
2. Anything strange, ugly or shocking, producing a feeling of alarm or aversion.
   • 1819, Lord Byron, Don Juan, I:

     Her maids were old, and if she took a new one,

     You might be sure she was a perfect fright;

     She did this during even her husband's life

     I recommend as much to every wife.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

fright (third-person singular simple present frights, present participle frighting, simple past and past participle frighted)

1. (archaic, transitive) To frighten.

Derived terms

• befright

Etymology 2

Probably short for affright, from Middle English afright, from Old English ?fyrht, past participle of ?fyrhtan (“to make afraid; terrify”).

Adjective

fright (comparative more fright, superlative most fright)

1. (rare) frightened; afraid; affright

Middle English

Etymology 1

Noun

fright

1. Alternative form of frith

References

• “frith, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-04.

Etymology 2

From Old English fryhtu, from earlier fyrhtu, from Proto-Germanic *furht??.

Alternative forms

• fri?t, freyhte, fyrht, furht, frigt, fry?t

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?frixt(?)/, [?friçt(?)]

Noun

fright (plural *frightes)

1. A fright or scare.

Related terms

• frighten
• frightful (rare)
• frighti (rare)
• frightly (rare)

Descendants

• English: fright
• Scots: fricht

References

• “fright, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-05.

English

Etymology

From Latin anxiet?s, from anxius (“anxious, solicitous, distressed, troubled”), from ang? (“to distress, trouble”), akin to Ancient Greek ???? (ánkh?, “to choke”). See anger; angst.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?æ?(?)?za?.?.ti/
• Rhymes: -a??ti

Noun

anxiety (countable and uncountable, plural anxieties)

1. An unpleasant state of mental uneasiness, nervousness, apprehension and obsession or concern about some uncertain event.
   • 2005, Plato, Sophist. Translation by Lesley Brown. 268a.

     But the other, because he's been immersed in arguments, gives the appearance of harbouring considerable anxiety and suspicion that he's ignorant of those matters he presents himself to others as an expert on.

2. An uneasy or distressing desire (for something).
3. (pathology) A state of restlessness and agitation, often accompanied by a distressing sense of oppression or tightness in the stomach.

Synonyms

• care, solicitude, foreboding, uneasiness, perplexity, disquietude, disquiet, trouble, apprehension, restlessness, distress

Related terms

Derived terms

• hangxiety

Translations

Further reading

• anxiety in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• anxiety in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.