worrywart

See also: worry-wart and worry wart

English

WOTD – 13 August 2008

Alternative forms

• worry wart, worry-wart

Etymology

From worry +‎ wart, apparently chosen for alliteration. Presumably related to earlier worryguts. Attested 1956, but earlier examples are found in newspapers of the 1930s and 1940s.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈwʌɹ.ɪˌwɔːt/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈwʌɹ.iˌwɔːt/

  • Audio (General Australian):

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈwʌɹ.iˌwoɹt/

  • Audio (New England, without the hurry–furry merger):

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈwɚ.iˌwoɹt/

  • Audio (US, hurry–furry merger):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)t

Noun

worrywart (plural worrywarts)

1. (originally US) A person who worries excessively, especially about unimportant matters.

   Synonyms: bundle of nerves, worrier; see also Thesaurus:worrier

   • 2005, Hal Edward Runkel, Screamfree Parenting: Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool, →ISBN, page 31:

     It doesn't mean you're a worrywart, a nervous wreck or in need of heavy medication.

   • 2008 August 17, Nicole L.V. Mullis, “Vacation renders kids, adult males impervious to danger”, in Battle Creek Enquirer‎^[1]:

     On vacation, I'm a worrywart for fretting about third-degree burns and puncture wounds.

   • 2020 December 7, Zeynep Tufekci, “‘This Must Be Your First’”, in The Atlantic‎^[2]:

     When Biden takes the presidential oath in January, many will write articles scolding those who expressed concern about a coup as worrywarts, or as people misusing terminology.

Translations

person who worries excessively

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 杞人憂天的人／杞人忧天的人 (qǐrényōutiān de rén)

• Danish: sortseer c
• Estonian: põdeja
• Finnish: murehtija, huolehtija
• French: angoissé (fr)
• German: Schwarzseher (de) m, Schwarzmaler m
• Hungarian: vészmadár (hu), aggodalmaskodó (hu)
• Norwegian:

  Norwegian Bokmål: svartseer

• Polish: kłębek nerwów (pl) m
• Russian: комо́к не́рвов (ru) (komók nérvov)
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can
• Swedish: dystergök c, pessimist (sv) c

See also

• pessimist
• OCD
• hypochondriac

References

• “worry wart n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present