concerned

UK: /kənˈsɜː^rnd/ US: /kənˈsɝnd/ ,(kən sûrnd′)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

con•cerned /kənˈsɜrnd/   adj. 

1. interested or affected:
   concerned citizens.
2. troubled or anxious:
   a concerned look on her face.
3. having a connection or involvement;
   participating:
   [often: after a noun; sometimes: be + ~] All persons concerned will meet in the dean's office.

con•cern•ed•ly /kənˈsɜrnɪdli/  adv. 
con•cern•ed•ness, n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

con•cerned  (kən sûrnd′), adj. 

1. interested or affected:
   concerned citizens.
2. troubled or anxious:
   a concerned look.
3. having a connection or involvement; participating:
   They arrested all those concerned in the kidnapping.

• concern + -ed² 1650–60

con•cern•ed•ly  (kən sûr′nid lē), adv.  con•cern′ed•ness, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

concerned / kənˈsɜːnd/ adjective

1. (postpositive) interested, guilty, involved, or appropriate: I shall find the people concerned and inform them
2. worried, troubled, or solicitous

concernedly / kənˈsɜːnɪdlɪ/ adverb

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

con•cern /kənˈsɜrn/   v. [~ + object]

1. [not: be + ~-ing] to be of interest or importance to;
   affect;
   involve:
   Drug abuse concerns us all.
2. to relate to;
   be connected with;
   be about:
   [not: be + ~-ing] This next episode concerns our hero trying to rescue the heroine.
3. [~ + oneself + with + object] to interest or engage:
   He concerned himself with every aspect of the business.
4. [~ + object] to trouble, worry, or make unhappy;
   disturb:
   Your headaches concern me.

n. 

5. something that relates to a person;
   one's business or affair;
   something important to a person:
   [uncountable] That problem is of no concern to us.
6. worry, solicitude, or anxiety:
   [uncountable] to show concern for the homeless.
7. a commercial or manufacturing company;
   firm:
   [countable] business concerns in that region.

See -cern-. Related Words

concern is a noun and a verb, concerned is an adjective, concerning is a preposition:
His low grades concern me. One of my concerns is his low grades. We are concerned parents. Concerning the payments, how should we arrange them?

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

con•cern  (kən sûrn′), v.t. 

1. to relate to;
   be connected with;
   be of interest or importance to;
   affect:
   The water shortage concerns us all.
2. to interest or engage (used reflexively or in the passive, often fol. by with or in):
   She concerns herself with every aspect of the business.
3. to trouble, worry, or disquiet:
   I am concerned about his health.

n. 

4. something that relates or pertains to a person;
   business;
   affair:
   Law is the concern of lawyers.
5. a matter that engages a person's attention, interest, or care, or that affects a person's welfare or happiness:
   The party was no concern of his.
6. worry, solicitude, or anxiety:
   to show concern for someone in trouble.
7. important relation or bearing:
   This news is of concern to all of us.
8. a commercial or manufacturing company or establishment:
   the headquarters of an insurance concern.
9. [Informal.] any material object or contrivance.

• Medieval Latin concernere to relate to, distinguish (Late Latin: to mix for sifting), equivalent. to Latin con- con- + cernere to sift
• Middle French concerner)
• late Middle English concernen (1375–1425

Synonyms

• 1. touch, involve.
• 3. disturb.
• 5. burden, responsibility.
  Concern, care, worry connote an uneasy and burdened state of mind.
  Concern implies an anxious sense of interest in something:
  concern over a friend's misfortune.
  Care suggests a heaviness of spirit caused by dread, or by the constant pressure of burdensome demands:
  Poverty weighs a person down with care.
  Worry is an active state of agitated uneasiness and restless apprehension:
  He was distracted by worry over the stock market.
• 8. firm, house.

Antonyms

• 6. indifference.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

concern / kənˈsɜːn/ verb (transitive)

1. to relate to; be of importance or interest to; affect
2. usually followed by with or in: to involve or interest (oneself): he concerns himself with other people's affairs

noun

1. something that affects or is of importance to a person; affair; business
2. regard for or interest in a person or a thing: she felt a strong concern for her sister
3. anxiety, worry, or solicitude
4. important bearing or relation: this news has great concern for us
5. a commercial company or enterprise
6. a material thing, esp one of which one has a low opinion

Etymology: 15th Century: from Late Latin concernere to mingle together, from Latin com- together + cernere to sift, distinguish