worrywart

worrywart

informal Someone who is excessively, compulsively, or needlessly worrisome or fretful. Sometimes spelled as two words. That's the last time I go backpacking with John. He was just an insufferable worrywart for the whole trip! I know I seem like a worry wart about this proposal, but we must be absolutely sure that everything is done to the letter of the law.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

worrywart

someone who worries all the time. Don't be such a worrywart. I'm sorry I'm such a worrywart.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

worry wart

n. someone who worries all the time. Don’t be such a worry wart.
See also: wart, worry
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

worry wart

A person who agonizes unduly, anticipating failure or disaster or other misfortune. This slangy term, also spelled worrywart, dates from about 1930. For example, “‘So who’s alarmed?’ I asked. . . . ‘You were, Mr. Worrywart. You saw the Health truck outside and what did you think? Sickness’” (James Patterson, London Bridges, 2004). See also nervous Nellie.
See also: wart, worry
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • worry wart
  • worry about
  • worry about (someone or something)
  • worry oneself about
  • worry over
  • worry over (someone or something)
  • joy of missing out
  • JOMO
  • a federal case
  • federal
References in periodicals archive
"I'm hypochondriacal when it comes to terrorism," Allen told Variety, "the world's biggest worrywart."
Woody Allen's golden-age Hollywood love story kicks off Cannes
For police investigator (and worrywart) Holger Munch, the case holds extra significance, as he has a granddaughter the same age as the victims.
Next-level Scandinavian suspense
First book in a new series about The Hedges, "Mommy Is a Worrywart" explores a mommy's many fears about the safety of her offspring in multiple tenuous situations.
Mommy Is a Worrywart
But for the garden-variety worrywart, the picture is far less gloomy.
Worry can be good: a moderate amount of anxiety can be a powerful tool for achieving goals
I'm no hurricane, I'm a worrywart, Anne, I'm the shy
To Anne Sexton
This is the second in a series of nutty safety guides featuring everyone's favourite worrywart. This title is also available in French as Frisson l'ecureuil se prepare pour l'Halloween: Un guide de securite pour les stresses.
Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Halloween: A Safety Guide for Scaredies
Call me a worrywart, but I remain concerned by the extent to which our systems of economic governance have lagged in addressing these four outcomes.
Lehman's morbid legacy haunts global economy
His mother, the worrywart, agreed only after he promised to wear a safety harness.
Mother knows best
The show, a production by the company's junior members, follows the woodland adventures of two amphibious friends, a worrywart toad and a perky frog, over the course of an entire year.
Plays range from 'Blonde' to 'Dusk'
Similarly, those managing medical device risks must think about "what if" scenarios, even when business runs smoothly and others think the risk manager is a worrywart.
Preparing to rebound after a disaster
A Harvard University study, hailed as the most thorough of its type to date, found strong links between anxiety and heart health: the sunniest, most optimistic individuals examined in this study were a whopping 50 percent less likely to have heart attacks or strokes than their worrywart counterparts.
Worried sick: recent studies confirm that a "half-empty" outlook is literally bad for your health
Well, as ecstatic as a self-proclaimed worrywart can get.
After Years on Top, Future Brings Challenges for State GOP
Rather than be saddled with a worrywart, participants were 3.5 times more likely to choose individuals who demanded feedback on work quality.
Fear of office politics may increase likelihood of being rejected
We'll have to wait and see, of course, and I admit to being a worrywart where deer and turkeys are concerned.
The long, hot summer
Piglet may be a worrywart, but he's not the hapless incompetent he's made out to be, in one of a handful of scenes that momentarily spoil the mood of earnest sincerity so clearly being aimed for.
Winnie the Pooh