Worry vs. Concern

These verbs are synonyms but are used in different grammatical structures. This lesson will clarify their difference.

What is the difference between 'worry' and 'concern'?

Both 'worry' and 'concern' are verbs that refer to a state of feeling anxious or upset about a situation or event. However, 'worry' can be both transitive and intransitive while 'concern' is always transitive. This lesson will further explore this difference.

Grammatical Difference

While closely related in meaning, 'worry' and 'concern' differ in terms of their grammatical structure. 'Worry' can be used both transitively and intransitively. In its intransitive form, it has a human subject and means to feel anxious about something and keep thinking about it. In its transitive usage, it means to make someone anxious about something and has a human object. 'Concern', however, is always transitive in this meaning and takes a human object, while the subject is the person or thing that causes the feeling of anxiousness. Take a look at the examples:

She worries about the possibility of losing her job.

'Worry' as an intransitive verb is usually followed by a prepositional phrase using 'about'.

My friend's health worries me, he hasn't been doing well lately.

'Worry' as a transitive verb takes a human object.

My friend's health concerns me, he hasn't been doing well lately.

'Concern' is always transitive and can be used interchangeably with the transitive usage of 'worry'

Climate change concerns scientists from around the world.

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