Words and Phrases to Describe Fear, Anxiety and Stress

Fear is something that we all have felt at least once in our lifetime. But most often, we are unable to describe fear because we fall short of words. Due to this, we are not in a position to provide the right explanation for our fear.

Our lives have become fast-paced and we are running from end to end to cope up with the daily routine work, meeting the deadlines, managing the professional as well as personal life. Due to all this, the mind becomes stressed and unable to keep emotions in control. When the stress keeps increasing, it will lead to the feeling of anxiety and depression. Most often, people suffer from anxiety but are not sure what it feels like.

Anxiety is a sense of fear that crops up in your mind and you are constantly worrying about some other things. You will always feel slight uneasiness in your mind and body but it would be difficult to explain.

When you are making use of the English language to explain your anxiousness, how will you do it? What are the words that you will use to describe the feeling of anxiety? Well, if you are not sure, then do not worry.

Words to Describe Fear and Anxiety

You can use the following list of phrases and adjective words that will help you to describe fear and anxiety.

foreboding	apprehension	consternation
dread	terror	fright
horror	trepidation	qualm
terrified	horrified	alarmed
scared	shocked	petrified
spooked	panic	dismay
frightened	hysteric	Shaking

Afraid	Alarmed	Aversive	Distrustful
Unsettled	Wary	Worried	Anxious
Shaky	Startled	Suspicious	Unnerved
Jumpy	Nervous	Perturbed	Rattled
Phobic	Shocked	Terrorized	Fearful
Horrified	Panicked	Paralyzed	Petrified
Alert	Apprehensive	Cautious	Concerned
Curious	Disoriented	Doubtful	Edgy
Fidgety	Hesitant	Indecisive	Insecure
Instinctive	Intuitive	Leery	Pensive
Shy	Timid	Uneasy	Watchful

Words to Describe Stress

Here we have listed some interesting adjective words that will help you in describing your stressful situation.

uneasy	worried	troubled
nervous	fearful	tense
distressed	disquieted	agitated
stressed	frightened	scared
solicitous	restless	nervy
afraid	concerned	fidgety

Following are some phrases that you can use while describing fear:

Blinked sweat from my eyes.
My heart almost stopped beating.
His eyes staring in disbelief.
Wild with fear.
My stomach turned to ice.
Frozen to the spot.
They hurried along the silent alley, as though driven by fear.
Terror held me like a vice-like grip.
The torture of my indecision and fear threatened to crush us.
Those death-like eyes, devoid of all emotions.
Like the cold breath of a grave, her words seemed to cut.
I was stricken into silence.
A ghastly whiteness spread over her face.
His face is frozen in a glassy stare of horror.
I stared at the corpse with a grim and shuddering fascination.
An uncomfortable premonition of fear pervaded his senses.

Now here are some of the most interesting idioms related to fear.

#1 A terrifying ordeal: If something is a tarrying ordeal it is a very frightening experience

It was such a terrifying ordeal. I’m glad that it’s over.

#2 Send shivers down my spine: When something sends shivers down your spine, it terrifies you.

I watched a horror movie yesterday. Some of the scenes and the sound effects were so frightening that they sent shivers down my spine.

#3 Give me goosebumps: Goosebumps are the little bumps that your skin gets when you are frightened or cold.

I can’t watch horror films. They give me goosebumps.

#4 Make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up

If something makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, they scare you.

#5 Scare the hell out of me

If something scares the hell out of you, they frighten you.

I don’t like to watch horror films because they scare the hell out of me.

#6 Afraid or Scared – General Sentences

I get scared really easily.
I’m afraid of the dark.
I can’t watch horror films. They scare me.
I had a terrifying experience last week.
I get scared when I’m at home all by myself.

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