apprehension
noun
Apprehension — the formal taking into custody of a suspected wrongdoer
Definition
The act of apprehending (especially apprehending a criminal); "the policeman on the beat got credit for the collar"
In depth
Apprehension is the act of apprehending, especially apprehending a criminal, the formal process by which law enforcement takes a suspected offender into custody. The word also carries an entirely separate and equally common psychological sense, describing anxious anticipation or fear, the two meanings sharing an underlying root concerned with mental or physical seizing and grasping.
Origin
The word descends from Latin apprehendere, to seize or grasp, formed from ad- (to) and prehendere (to seize). That shared root of mental and physical seizing unites both senses of the word, apprehension of a criminal a physical seizing of the body, apprehension as anxiety a mental seizing by an anticipated, feared outcome.
Usage examples
"The policeman on the beat got credit for the apprehension of the suspect after a brief but intense pursuit."
"Years passed before the apprehension of the fugitive finally brought closure to the long-unsolved case."
"She approached the difficult conversation with considerable apprehension, uncertain how it would be received."
How to use it
Apprehension requires context to distinguish its legal sense, taking a suspect into custody, from its far more common psychological sense, anxious worry, the two meanings rarely causing genuine confusion given how differently they typically appear in surrounding text.
Related concepts
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