worrywart
Perpetual anxiety person
A worrywart is someone who worries excessively, especially about things that are unlikely to happen or beyond their control.
The term is mildly teasing rather than harsh, suggesting the person's anxieties are disproportionate to actual threats.
My mother is such a worrywart—she calls if I'm five minutes late.
The word combines worry with wart, as if fretting were an unsightly but harmless growth one can't help having.
Overly particular person
- fusspotOverly particular person
- alarmistOne who overstates threats
- fretterOne who anxiously broods
- handwringerOne who frets excessively
mother-hen · overthinker · catastrophizer · doomsayer · pessimist · naysayer · scaremonger · panicker
Troubled by uncertainty
- nervousUneasy and apprehensive
- fretfulAnxiously irritable
- neuroticExcessively anxious or obsessive
- high-strungNervously sensitive temperament
timid · insecure · skittish · apprehensive · tense · edgy · jittery · fidgety
Persistent apprehensive distress
- dreadIntense anticipatory fear
- apprehensionNervous anticipation of trouble
- uneaseMild persistent worry
- nervousnessState of anxious unease
distress · agitation · restlessness · panic · fear · foreboding · tension · stress
Anxious rumination or surface wear
- ruminatingThinking deeply, repeatedly
- overthinkingDwelling excessively on thoughts
- catastrophizingImagining worst-case outcomes
- second-guessingReconsidering a decision made
obsessing · brooding · stewing · fixating · agonizing · handwringing · nitpicking · micromanaging
Persistent inability to rest
- headacheCranial pain
- fatigueWeariness from prolonged exertion
- burnoutChronic occupational depletion
- cortisolAdrenal steroid regulating stress
ulcer · nail-biting · pacing · sweating · stomachache · sleeplessness · exhaustion
fussbudget
Overly particular person
handwringer · mother-hen · overthinker · catastrophizer · doomsayer · pessimist · naysayer · scaremonger · panicker
anxious
Troubled by uncertainty
high-strung · timid · insecure · skittish · apprehensive · tense · edgy · jittery · fidgety · antsy
anxiety
Persistent apprehensive distress
- dreadIntense anticipatory fear
- apprehensionNervous anticipation of trouble
- uneaseMild persistent worry
nervousness · distress · agitation · restlessness · panic · fear · foreboding · tension · stress · angst
fretting
Anxious rumination or surface wear
- ruminatingThinking deeply, repeatedly
- overthinkingDwelling excessively on thoughts
- catastrophizingImagining worst-case outcomes
second-guessing · obsessing · brooding · stewing · fixating · agonizing · handwringing · nitpicking · micromanaging · overanalyzing
insomnia
Persistent inability to rest
cortisol · ulcer · nail-biting · pacing · sweating · stomachache · sleeplessness · exhaustion
- compound slangairhead, birdbrain, blockhead, bonehead, dimwit
- hesitant typeshesitator, waverer, ditherer, fence-sitter, second guesser
- worriersfretter, overthinker, nervous wreck, bundle of nerves, ruminator
- overprotective peoplehelicopter parent, tiger mom
- annoyancesannoyance, annoyances, irritations, irritation, nuisance
- difficult peopleegomaniac, egotist, nitpicker, drama queen, control freak
worrywartoptimist
Habitually hopeful person
Pollyanna · eternal optimist · carefree spirit · free spirit · idealist