Anxious -vs- Worry

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What's the difference between “anxious” and “worry”?

In one of today's classes, a student had written the following sentence as a part of her writing assignment:

“She is very anxious about her students.”

Technically speaking, there is nothing wrong with this sentence. The word “anxious” is defined as:

Uneasy and apprehensive about an uncertain event or matter; worried.

However, the Usage Panel of the The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language noted that

“ . . . general adoption of anxious to mean “eager” is understandable, at least in colloquial discourse, since it provides a means of adding emotional urgency to an assertion.”

Based on the context of the writing assignment, it wasn't very clear if the “teacher” was “worried” or “eager” about her students.

So, I suggested that our student use “worry” instead of “anxious.” What do you think? If you go to 英辞郎 on the Web (http://www.alc.co.jp/index.html), you can find hundreds more of good examples that cover both nuances of the word anxious.

If you have any questions or comments regarding today's topic, leave comment on this blog (see at the bottom), leave a comment on Facebook, send me a tweet, or just ask me in class!

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Additional notes:

anxious¹: 心配、不安 (worry, concern, etc.)

English：　I am anxious about my future.
日本語:　私の将来に不安を感じる。

English: She is anxious about my health.
日本語:　彼女は僕の健康を心配しています。

anxious²: 心から願っている、切望している (eager, anticipate, etc.)

English: He is anxious to see you.
日本語:　彼はあなたにとても会いたがっています。

English: With anxious expectation I always look forward to the summers in Tokyo.
日本語:　私はいつも東京の夏をワクワクしながら待っています。

References:

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