inquietude

/ɪnˈkwaɪɪtud/

/ɪnˈkwaɪɪtud/

Other forms: inquietudes

When you feel upset, restless, or anxious, you have a sense of inquietude. If you're worried about a friend driving home in the snow, your inquietude won't let you relax until you hear that she's arrived safely.

The feelings of unease or fretfulness that go along with inquietude might come from a fear of heights, worry about someone you love, or general anxiety. This noun comes from the Latin inquietus, "not quiet." Interestingly, the adjective version of this word isn't inquiet, which isn't a real word — instead it's unquiet, meaning "restless or anxious."

Definitions of inquietude

1. noun

   a feeling of anxiety, uneasiness, or restlessness
   synonyms: disquietude, edginess, uneasiness

   types:

   willies

   feelings of uneasiness

   type of:

   anxiety

   a vague unpleasant emotion that is experienced in anticipation of some (usually ill-defined) misfortune