anxiously

adverb

Definition of anxiouslynext
as in apprehensively

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of anxiously López can still picture her father holding the radio up to the window on rainy or cloudy days and putting his ear close to its speakers, anxiously trying to catch the signal before the Mensajero Rural ended. — Jordan Salama, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026 Mitchell will enter free agency in late January, when the Fever will anxiously await her decision. — Ryan Canfield Outkick, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026 What exactly are you supposed to do for those full seven days before a trip besides anxiously waiting to check into your flight? — Julia Morlino, Travel + Leisure, 11 Sep. 2026 Nelza Moktan anxiously sought information about her missing cousin, who also worked as a driver in Rasuwa. — Victoria Milko, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026 Instead, he’s spent August anxiously watching the orange skies from his house in the northern Nevada hills through two consecutive and adjacent wild-land fires, the Bug and Hawk Fires. — Anya Kamenetz, Curbed, 28 Aug. 2026 Guillen’s family waited anxiously as the same surgical team who treated Hawley four years before removed part of Guillen’s skull to release the pressure on her brain. — Blake Ellis, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026 Sunil Pradhan / Anadolu via Getty Images Syed Sadique, who runs a tour agency based in southern India, was waiting anxiously for news on the fate of 57 people traveling with his company, including his tour guide son, Sayed Umar Farook. — Laura Saravia, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2026 Joel Dowen paced back and forth on the second floor of his Concord residence as DEA agents waited anxiously outside. — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 26 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anxiously
  1. apprehensively
  2. uneasily
  3. uncomfortably
  4. critically
Adverb
  • This show of sweetness fighting back against a sense of hopelessness builds an apprehensively brighter perspective than earlier work.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
Definition of apprehensively
Adverb
  • Around him, media members watched uneasily as event organizers scrambled to determine the winner of the women’s marathon.
    — Vivian Yao, Baltimore Sun, 17 Oct. 2026
  • After some back and forth, with Salazar’s spokesperson looking on uneasily, the congresswoman turned to the priest.
    — Daniel Castro, New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of uneasily
Adverb
  • The students stirred uncomfortably at the clear breach of protocol.
    — Bob Woodward, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
  • In 1932, Carlos (Milo Quifes) is a young man in Grenada at a time when Spain is lurching uncomfortably towards an ever-increasing spiteful intolerance of homosexuality.
    — Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of uncomfortably
Adverb
  • Minnehaha County Deputy Katherine Frank was critically wounded Friday night when gunfire erupted about 30 minutes after deputies arrived at the home, the Minnehaha County Sheriff's Office said.
    — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Better decision-making doesn’t always require sweeping changes to workflows or new layers of oversight; small, consistent habits can help engineers stay focused, think critically and navigate competing demands without sacrificing productivity.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of critically

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Cite this Entry

“Anxiously.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anxiously. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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