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Shyness vs Anxiety - What's the difference?

shyness | anxiety |

As nouns the difference between shyness and anxiety

is that shyness is the quality of being shy; a fear of social interactions while anxiety is an unpleasant state of mental uneasiness, nervousness, apprehension and obsession or concern about some uncertain event.

shyness

English

Noun

(en-noun)
  • The quality of being shy; a fear of social interactions.
  • His shyness kept him from asking her to the prom.

    Synonyms

    * See also

    anxiety

    Noun

    (anxieties)
  • An unpleasant state of mental uneasiness, nervousness, apprehension and obsession or concern about some uncertain event.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1907, author=
  • , title=The Dust of Conflict , chapter=4 citation , passage=The inquest on keeper Davidson was duly held, and at the commencement seemed likely to cause Tony Palliser less anxiety than he had expected.}}
  • * 2005 , .
  • But the other, because he's been immersed in arguments, gives the appearance of harbouring considerable anxiety and suspicion that he's ignorant of those matters he presents himself to others as an expert on.
  • An uneasy or distressing desire (for something).
  • I was anxious to get into the office before Henderson called from New York.
  • (pathology) A state of restlessness and agitation, often accompanied by a distressing sense of oppression or tightness in the stomach.
  • Synonyms

    * care, solicitude, foreboding, uneasiness, perplexity, disquietude, disquiet, trouble, apprehension, restlessness, distress