APPREHENSION

apprehension |ˌapriˈhen sh ən| noun 1 anxiety or fear that something bad or unpleasant will happen : he felt sick with apprehension | she had some apprehensions about the filming. 2 understanding; grasp : the pure apprehension of the work of art. 3 the action of arresting someone : they acted with intent to prevent lawful apprehension. ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense [learning, acquisition of knowledge] ): from late Latin apprehensio(n-), from apprehendere ‘seize, grasp’ (see apprehend ).