angustia
nounCEFR B2
What does “angustia” mean in English?
distress, anguish
distress, anguish (acute psychological suffering; angustia existencial; un grito de angustia)
Example sentences
La angustia que provoca la incertidumbre laboral se traduce en problemas de salud física y mental que los sistemas sanitarios apenas logran absorber.
The distress provoked by job insecurity translates into physical and mental health problems that healthcare systems can barely absorb.
La filosofía existencialista puso la angustia ante la libertad en el centro de su reflexión sobre la condición humana.
Existentialist philosophy placed anguish in the face of freedom at the centre of its reflection on the human condition.
Los equipos de emergencia trabajan bajo una angustia constante que pocos estudios sobre bienestar laboral han abordado.
Emergency teams work under a constant distress that few studies on workplace wellbeing have addressed.
How to use it
La angustia means 'distress' or 'anguish' — an intense feeling of anxiety, dread, or emotional suffering. At B2 it is used in psychological, philosophical, and social discourse: la angustia existencial, la angustia ante el futuro, vivir con angustia, superar la angustia. The verb angustiar (to distress, to anguish) and the adjective angustiado/a are productive. Distinguish from ansiedad (anxiety — a persistent state of worry or nervousness, more clinical) and desesperación (desperation — implies loss of hope, more extreme).
Common mistake
Angustia (acute emotional distress or anguish — specific suffering event or existential dread) vs ansiedad (anxiety — chronic, clinical state of worry: el trastorno de ansiedad) vs desesperación (desperation — loss of hope: actué por desesperación). In clinical Spanish, ansiedad is used for the medical condition; angustia for the acute felt experience. 'Chest tightness/distress' can be angustia precordial in medical language. Note: angustia is always feminine.