Apprehension is the uneasy feeling you get when you're worried about something that might happen. It's that nervous flutter in your stomach before giving a presentation, or the anxious anticipation you feel waiting to find out if you made the team. Unlike sudden fear from immediate danger, apprehension builds slowly as you think about what's coming.

You might feel apprehension before the first day at a new school, not because anything bad is happening right now, but because you're uncertain about what to expect. A student might approach a difficult math test with apprehension, worried about whether they've studied enough. Apprehension combines worry, nervousness, and uncertainty into one uncomfortable feeling.

The word can also mean the act of arresting a suspected criminal. You might read that the police apprehended a suspect in a bank robbery.