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angst

American  
[ahngkst, angst] / ɑŋkst, æŋst /

noun

  1. a feeling of dread, anxiety, or anguish.

angst British  
/ æŋst, aŋst /

noun

  1. an acute but nonspecific sense of anxiety or remorse

  2. (in Existentialist philosophy) the dread caused by man's awareness that his future is not determined but must be freely chosen

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
angst Cultural  

  1. A kind of fear or anxiety; Angst is German for “fear.” It is usually applied to a deep and essentially philosophical anxiety about the world in general or personal freedom. (See existentialism.)

Other Word Forms

  • angsty adjective

Etymology

Origin of angst

First recorded in 1840–50; from German Angst “fear, anxiety,” Old High German angust (cognate with Middle Low German angest, Middle Dutch anxt ), from ang- (akin to eng “narrow, constricted”) + -st, abstract noun suffix

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Blue Owl’s fans say the investor angst will abate.

From The Wall Street Journal

But the S&P 500 already was teetering ahead of a crucial jobs report, with angst intensifying over the potential for artificial intelligence to drive sweeping layoffs.

From MarketWatch

Software stocks continue to lead the downturn and have acted as the lynchpin for AI-related angst in the broader market.

From Barron's

The market’s more recent angst, however, is somewhat paradoxical.

From Barron's

But the arrival of these goods is sparking acute angst in Germany – the traditional engine of Europe but one that's been stuttering, economically, for years.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.