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trepidation

UK/ˌtɹɛp.ɪˈdeɪ.ʃən/US/ˌtɹɛp.ɪˈdeɪ.ʃən/
nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,595 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: trepidations

Trepidation is nervous fear about what is about to happen. With some trepidation, a certain trepidation, approach with trepidation.

It is anticipation rather than fear of anything present, so trepidation is felt before the event and not during it. The Latin means trembling, and it nearly always appears with with.

Definitions of trepidation

  1. 1nountrepidationNervous fear about what is about to happen.C1

    “With some trepidation, I opened the letter from the hospital.”

trepidation is a fear.

Where it comes from

Latin trepidatio comes from trepidare, to tremble or be agitated.

  1. Latin

    trepidātiō

  2. English, today

    trepidation

Built from

  • trepidō · Latin — be agitated

Latin trepidātiō, from trepidō (“be agitated”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

trepidation in the wild

  • The origin of the theory of trepidation comes from the Small Commentary to the Handy Tables written by Theon of Alexandria in the 4th century CE.

    Trepidation

  • In this trepidation model, the oscillation is added to the equinoxes as they precess.

    Trepidation

  • In a 2012 interview with Larry Mantle on KPCC's Airtalk, Lefcourt stated he signed with Amazon.com to publish and distribute his most recent book "with some trepidation".

    Peter Lefcourt

  • When he finally decided to write it, he did so in trepidation.

    String Quartet (Fauré)

  • Bated breath or with bated breath is a phrase meaning to hold one's breath in anticipation or trepidation.

    Bated breath

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.