apprehensively

adverb

as in anxiously

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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 apprehensively 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for apprehensively
  1. anxiously
  2. uneasily
  3. uncomfortably
Adverb
  • Each year when Wimbledon rolls around, tennis fans crane their necks and watch their TV screens with undivided attention for a glance at the Royal Box, anxiously awaiting if Kate Middleton will be in attendance.
    — Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 5 July 2026
  • At donation centers across Miami-Dade County, members of the Venezuelan community are collecting supplies for victims while anxiously waiting for news from home.
    — Ivan Taylor, CBS News, 30 June 2026
Definition of anxiously
Adverb
  • László Moholy-Nagy hovers low over a gaggle of pigeons, suspending the viewer uneasily between protector and predator.
    — Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 26 June 2026
  • Most respondents cluster uneasily in the middle, reflecting ambivalence rather than ideological conviction.
    — Alexis Montambault-Trudelle, The Conversation, 9 June 2026
Definition of uneasily
Adverb
  • That sits uncomfortably with me — and, judging by the boos, with many fans in Foxborough.
    — Cerys Jones, New York Times, 27 June 2026
  • As the clogged pipe grows louder, the camera begins uncomfortably zooming in on Rudd’s face until the pipe explodes in Ted's, closing out the episode.
    — Kirsten Acuna, PEOPLE, 26 June 2026
Definition of uncomfortably

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Cite this Entry

“Apprehensively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apprehensively. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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