Apprehension refers to a feeling of anxiety or fear about future events, or a perception or understanding of something. It can also denote the act of apprehending or arresting someone. In psychology, it describes anticipatory unease; in law, it can mean capture by authorities. The term carries nuance from nervous anticipation to a cautious comprehension, depending on context and tone.
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"She felt a sense of apprehension before giving the speech."
"The police moved with quiet efficiency, arresting the suspect with no resistance, though there was visible apprehension among the crowd."
"Her apprehension about the test was unfounded once the questions were reviewed."
"There's a growing apprehension in the office about potential budget cuts."
Apprehension comes from the Latin apprehensione, from apprehendere, meaning to seize, grasp, or seize hold of. The Latin prefix ad- suggests toward, while prehendere is to seize or grasp. In Latin, apprehensio referred to grasping or seizing, and by extension the act of taking hold of something mentally, such as comprehension or perception. In English, early uses around the 14th century carried senses of arrest or seizure (as in legal apprehension) and soon broadened to denote mental grasping (understanding) and, later, anxiety about the future. By the 16th and 17th centuries, apprehension commonly meant fear or anxiety about what might happen, as well as the act of arrest in legal contexts. Over time, the word consolidated its dual semantic field: cognitive grasp (understanding/perception) and affective anticipation (anxiety or fear). The shift from physical capture to mental capture reflects a linguistic shift from tangible seizure to grasping conceptually. The modern sense often relies on context to disambiguate: a person’s apprehension about an upcoming event versus the legal apprehension of a suspect. The progression illustrates how a root meaning of “seize” expands into psychological and perceptual domains, retaining the core notion of holding onto something—whether a suspect, a concept, or a feeling.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "apprehension" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "apprehension"
-ion sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Say /ˌæprɪˈhɛnʃən/. Start with the stressed second syllable ‘hɛn’, then the final ‘ʃən’ is a light, unstressed ending. The primary stress sits on the third syllable (hen). Tip: keep the 'pre' sound distinct from the 'hen' so listeners hear -hɛn- clearly. Audio reference: try listening to reputable dictionaries or pronunciation resources to hear the cadence in slow and natural speech.
Common errors: 1) Misplacing stress, saying ap-PRÊ-hen-sion; ensure the main stress is on the third syllable. 2) Merging /prɪ/ and /hɛn/ into a single indistinct syllable, producing /æprɪhɛnʃən/ with unclear syllable boundaries. 3) Over-smoothing the /tʃ/ into a /ʃ/ or /tʃ/ blend; articulate /hɛnʃ/ as separate of the /ɪ/ and /h/. Corrections: keep /ˌæprɪˈhɛnʃən/, pause slightly after /æprɪ/ to land the stressed /ˈhɛn/ clearly, and make sure the /tʃ/ remains before the final /ən/ with clear palatal release.
Across accents, the main stress remains on the third syllable, but vowel qualities shift slightly: US and UK typically maintain /æ/ in the first syllable and /ɪ/ in the second; US/UK rhotics do not affect the vowel in /hɛn/. Australian may show a slightly broader /æ/ and a softer /ɪ/ in the second syllable, with subtle flap tendencies in connected speech. Overall, the /ˈhɛn/ nucleus stays prominent in all. IPA guides will help you compare precisely.
Difficulties come from the multi-syllabic structure with three consonant clusters in a row: /pr/ in the second syllable, /h/ in the onset of the third, and the /tʃ/ blend before the final /ən/. The fall in volume on the second syllable can blur the center stress, and the sonority of /ʃ/ in /hɛnʃən/ can be subtle in rapid speech. Focus on maintaining the stress on the third syllable and distinctly enunciating /tʃ/ before the final /ən/.
A unique feature here is the adjacent /prɪ/ sequence before the stressed /ˈhɛn/ and the /tʃ/ that begins the final stressed syllable's ending. Many speakers reduce /ɪ/ toward a schwa in casual speech, risking /ˌæprəˈhɛn.ʃən/. To avoid this, maintain a clear /ɪ/ or a slightly rounded /ɪ/ and ensure the /tʃ/ retains its palatal quality before the final /ən/. IPA reference: /ˌæprɪˈhɛnʃən/.
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