Trepidation Meaning
/ˌtɹɛp.ɪˈdeɪ.ʃən/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAnxiety over the uncertain future or possible ill-occurrence.
nounAn involuntary trembling, sometimes an effect of paralysis, but usually caused by terror or fear.
Sentence Examples
We are waiting with trepidation to be proved wrong.
Do I hear a note of trepidation in your voice?
CEFR Practice Quiz
With great ____, she opened the letter from the hospital.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He entered the manager's office with some ____, as he was not sure how she would react to his new proposal today.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Latin trepidātiō, from trepidō (“be agitated”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"She reached it soon after half-past two. She found its gloomy nineteenth-century façade, black with the smuts of ninety years, a little daunting, and mounted its broad steps in some trepidation. But she rang the bell hard and knocked firmly."
— 1915, Edgar Jepson, “The Reluctant Duke”, in Happy Pollyooly: The Rich Little Poor Girl, Indianapolis, Ind.: Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 135:
"She opened the drawing-room door in trepidation. Would she find Esther drowned with her head in the goldfish bowl, or hanged from the chandelier by her stay-lace?"
— 1929, M. Barnard Eldershaw, chapter VII, in A House is Built:
"When I went, I left from the station / With a haversack and some trepidation"
— 1990, Chris Lowe, Neil Tennant, “Being Boring”, performed by Pet Shop Boys:
"The Midlanders will hope the victory will kickstart a campaign that looked to have hit the buffers, but the sense of trepidation enveloping the Reebok Stadium heading into the new year underlines the seriousness of the predicament facing Owen Coyle's men."
— 2011 December 10, Marc Higginson, “Bolton 1 – 2 Aston Villa”, in BBC Sport:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
With great ____, she opened the letter from the hospital.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He entered the manager's office with some ____, as he was not sure how she would react to his new proposal today.