Apprehension (&unr_;), n. [L. apprehensio: cf. F. appréhension. See Apprehend.] 1. The act of seizing or taking hold of; seizure; as, the hand is an organ of apprehension. Sir T. Browne.
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2. The act of seizing or taking by legal process; arrest; as, the felon, after his apprehension, escaped.
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3. The act of grasping with the intellect; the contemplation of things, without affirming, denying, or passing any judgment; intellection; perception.
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Simple apprehension denotes no more than the soul's naked intellection of an object. Glanvill.
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4. Opinion; conception; sentiment; idea.
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&hand_; In this sense, the word often denotes a belief, founded on sufficient evidence to give preponderation to the mind, but insufficient to induce certainty; as, in our apprehension, the facts prove the issue.
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To false, and to be thought false, is all one in respect of men, who act not according to truth, but apprehension. South.
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5. The faculty by which ideas are conceived; understanding; as, a man of dull apprehension.
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6. Anticipation, mostly of things unfavorable; distrust or fear at the prospect of future evil.
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After the death of his nephew Caligula, Claudius was in no small apprehension for his own life. Addison.
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Syn. -- Apprehension, Alarm. Apprehension springs from a sense of danger when somewhat remote, but approaching; alarm arises from danger when announced as near at hand. Apprehension is calmer and more permanent; alarm is more agitating and transient.
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