Adjectives....

Question

Hello,Could you tell me please how can I use nervous, worried, anxious, fret, and agitated?How can they be replaced by each of them?

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

Could you tell me please how can I use nervous, worried, anxious, fret, and agitated?

How can they be replaced by each of them?
eg Mary was/felt nervous / worried / anxious / fretful / agitated.

Clive

Anonymous · Answer

Hello,

Thank you. I read that ashamed , shy, and embarrassed are not always interchangeable like these adjectives above. I mean in what situations are nervous, worried, anxious, fretful and agitated used?

Clive · Answer

Hi,
I read that ashamed , shy, and embarrassed are not always interchangeable like these adjectives above. I mean in what situations are nervous, worried, anxious, fretful and agitated used?

I won't repeat all of the dictionary definitions. Instead, here are some of my quick reactions to these words.

Mary is nervous. She is worried that some often minor problem may arise.
eg Mary is going to meet her boy-friend's mother for the first time.

Mary is worried. Sounds a bit more serious than the above.

Mary is anxious. Mary thinks something bad may happen.

Mary is fretful. Not so commonly said. Sounds minor, trivial.

Mary is agitated. Sounds like you can see physical signs of her mental feelings. eg Maybe she is breathing fast, or pacing about.

Clive

Anonymous · Answer

This is exactly what  I needed. Thank you very much.

Adjectives....

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