angst-ridden
Full of dread
Angst-ridden describes someone or something consumed by anxiety, dread, or existential unease.
The term often characterizes adolescent experience or artistic temperament: angst-ridden teenagers, an angst-ridden novel about suburban alienation.
It can be used dismissively to suggest the anxiety is overwrought or self-indulgent.
Troubled by uncertainty
- nervousUneasy and apprehensive
- apprehensiveFearful of future events
- uneasyTroubled, not calm
- tenseStrained or nervous
fearful · edgy · jittery · restless · dread · fretful · overwrought · panicky
Intense mental suffering
- despairTotal absence of hope
- distressedSuffering emotional turmoil
- griefIntense sorrow from loss
- heartacheDeep emotional distress
misery · pain · sorrow · suffering · trauma · troubled · woe · wretched
Subdued, lasting sadness
- pensiveQuietly, sadly thoughtful
- gloomyDark and dispiriting
- moroseSullenly ill-humored
- sullenSilently bad-tempered
moody · somber · doleful · despondent · wistful · introspective · dismal · heavy-hearted
Relating to existence itself
- nihilisticRejecting meaningful existence
- KafkaCzech-Jewish literary surname
- KierkegaardDanish existentialist theologian
- expressionistOne who conveys through art
grunge · emo · goth · Radiohead · Dostoevsky · Munch · Sartre · confessional
Teenage developmental stage
- pubertySexual development stage
- identityWho someone is
- rebellionDefiance of established power
- insecurityUncertainty about oneself
self-discovery · awkwardness · hormones · coming-of-age · alienation · misunderstood · diary · bedroom
worried
Troubled by uncertainty
- nervousUneasy and apprehensive
- apprehensiveFearful of future events
- uneasyTroubled, not calm
tense · fearful · edgy · jittery · restless · dread · fretful · overwrought · panicky · anxiety
anguish
Intense mental suffering
- despairTotal absence of hope
- distressedSuffering emotional turmoil
- griefIntense sorrow from loss
heartache · misery · pain · sorrow · suffering · trauma · troubled · woe · wretched · desolate
melancholy
Subdued, lasting sadness
sullen · moody · somber · doleful · despondent · wistful · introspective · dismal · heavy-hearted · dark
existential
Relating to existence itself
- nihilisticRejecting meaningful existence
- KafkaCzech-Jewish literary surname
- KierkegaardDanish existentialist theologian
expressionist · grunge · emo · goth · Radiohead · Dostoevsky · Munch · Sartre · confessional · poetry
adolescence
Teenage developmental stage
insecurity · self-discovery · awkwardness · hormones · coming-of-age · alienation · misunderstood · diary · bedroom · suburban
angst-riddencarefree
Free from anxiety
content · serene · tranquil · happy · untroubled
angst-riddencarefree
Free from anxiety
easygoing · lighthearted · laid-back · worry-free · unworried