Worry
Pronunciation accents without the w, English-language vowel changes before historic /r/#Hurry.E2.80.93furry_merger, "Hurry-furry" merger accents with the
- RP IPA: /ˈwʌɹi/
- US IPA: /ˈwʌɹi/, /ˈwÉi/
- Rhymes: -ÊŒri
Origin
From Middle English werien, worien, wirwen ‘to choke, strangle’, from Old English wyrġan, from Proto-Germanic *wurgijaną (compare Dutch worgen, wurgen, German würgen), from Proto-Indo-European *werǵʰ- ‘bind, squeeze’ (compare Latin urgere ‘to press, push’, Lithuanian ver̃žti ‘to string; squeeze’, Russian (poetic) отверзать ‘to open’, literally ‘untie’). Related to wring.
Full definition of worry
Verb
- (transitive) To seize or shake by the throat, especially of a dog or wolf.Your dog’s been worrying sheep again.
- (transitive) To harass; to irritate or distress.The President was worried into military action by persistent advisors.
- (transitive) Disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress.Your tone of voice worries me.
- (intransitive) To be troubled, to give way to mental anxiety.Stop worrying about your test, it’ll be fine.
- (transitive, obsolete, except in Scots) To strangle.
- (transitive) To cause concern or anxiety.
- 2013-08-10, Can China clean up fast enough?, That worries the government, which fears that environmental activism could become the foundation for more general political opposition.