solicitous

Solicitous is an adjective describing someone who shows care, concern, or attentiveness toward others. It can refer to a genuine wish to help or safeguard someone’s well-being, as in a nurse’s solicitous care, or to careful, anxious attention to details, as in a host’s solicitous preparations for guests. The sense ranges from positive (caring, considerate) to mildly pejorative when it implies excessive or intrusive attention.

Etymology: The word derives from Latin sollicitus "worried, anxious," via Old French sollicite and Middle English. The related verb solicit has a broader sense of seeking or requesting, but solicitous keeps the core sense of concern or eagerness.

Usage: Solicitous is common in formal or literary writing. It is typically followed by for or about: solicitous for someone’s welfare; solicitous about a problem. In contemporary usage it can describe warmth and attentiveness, or, if overdone, a sense of meddling or overbearing caution.

Variants: The adverb is solicitously; the noun form is solicitousness. Synonyms include attentive, concerned, caring, and mindful; antonyms include unconcerned, indifferent, and apathetic.