Trepidation

Part of speech: noun (n.)

1. An involuntary trembling, sometimes an effect of paralysis, but usually caused by terror or fear; quaking; quivering.

2. Hence, a state of terror or alarm; fear; confusion; fright; as, the men were in great trepidation.

3. A libration of the starry sphere in the Ptolemaic system; a motion ascribed to the firmament, to account for certain small changes in the position of the ecliptic and of the stars.

Synonyms: Tremor; agitation; disturbance; fear.