apprehension
apprehension (ăprĭ-hĕnʹshən) noun
1. Fearful or uneasy anticipation of the future; dread.
2. The act of seizing or capturing; arrest.
3. The ability to apprehend or understand; understanding.
[Middle English apprehencioun, perception, from Old French apprehension, from Late Latin apprehēnsiō, apprehēnsiōn-, from Latin apprehēnsus past participle of apprehendere, to seize. See apprehend.]
Synonyms: apprehension, foreboding, presentiment, misgiving. These nouns denote consternation that something untoward may be impending. Apprehension is fearful anticipation that something adverse is going to happen: The student looked around the examination room with apprehension. Foreboding is a sense of coming misfortune that is less clearly based on a definite reason: "The second half of the book builds a steadily escalating sense of foreboding" (Sven Birkerts). Presentiment denotes a somewhat nonspecific feeling that something, but not necessarily something unpleasant, is imminent: The lawyer had a presentiment that the judge would dismiss the case against her client. Misgiving suggests mistrust or uncertainty, as from loss of confidence in a decision made or from fearful doubts about a course of action undertaken: "A prudent mind can see room for misgiving, lest he who prospers should one day suffer reverse" (Sophocles).