Anxious is the adjective and has two main meanings. 1. a feeling of worry, nervousness or unease I was very anxious about my test results. 2. eager to do something or for something to happen I was very anxious to to see the new superhero film. So the first sense always describes a negative form of nervous energy but the second one describes a positive form of it. Anxiety is the noun and is almost always used in the first sense of the adjective. - a feeling of being anxious I felt a lot of anxiety about the test results.