Misgiving

Misgiving

Noun · /ˌmɪsˈɡɪv.ɪŋ/

Definition

A feeling of doubt, anxiety, or mistrust about a course of action or a future event; a feeling that something might go wrong; typically used in the plural (misgivings).

Origin

From mis- (wrongly) + giving (the present participle of give, from Old English giefan). The original sense was of the mind or heart giving wrongly — misgive being an intransitive verb meaning to fill with doubt or misgiving, used impersonally: my mind misgives me (my mind fills me with doubt). The verb misgive appears in Shakespeare. The noun misgiving developed from this verbal base. The word is typically used in the plural — misgivings about a decision, serious misgivings about a course of action.