fear
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fear (fir)
noun
- a feeling of anxiety and agitation caused by the presence or nearness of danger, evil, pain, etc.; timidity; dread; terror; fright; apprehension
- respectful dread; awe; reverence
- a feeling of uneasiness or apprehension; concern a fear that it will rain
- a cause for fear; possibility; chance there was no fear of difficulty
Etymology: ME fer < OE fær, lit., sudden attack, akin to OHG fāra, ambush, snare: for IE base see peril
transitive verb
- Obsolete to fill with fear; frighten
- to be afraid of; dread
- to feel reverence or awe for
- to expect with misgiving; suspect I fear I am late
intransitive verb
- to feel fear; be afraid
- to be uneasy, anxious, or doubtful
for fear of
Fear (fir)
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Alternate definitions:
fear
n.
Alarm occasioned by immediate danger
dread, fright, terror, horror, panic, alarm, consternation, dismay, awe, scare, abhorrence, revulsion, aversion, tremor, bodily fear, mortal terror, funk*, cold feet*, cold sweat*, chills*; see also sense 2.Antonyms
courage*, intrepidity*, dash. * General apprehension
anxiety, trepidation, dread, timidity, cowardice, misgiving, trembling, uneasiness, fear and trembling, disquietude, perturbation, phobia, bugbear, irresolution, fearfulness, foreboding, despair, agitation, hesitation, nervousness, jumpiness, worry, concern, suspicion, doubt, qualm, presentiment, faintheartedness, timorousness, abject fear, the creeps*; see also sense 1; cowardice, nervousness 1.
fear is the general term for the anxiety and agitation felt at the presence of danger; dread refers to the fear or depression felt in anticipating something dangerous or disagreeable to live in dread of poverty; fright applies to a sudden, shocking, usually momentary fear the mouse gave her a fright; alarm implies the fright felt at the sudden realization of danger he felt alarm at the sight of the pistol; terror applies to an overwhelming, often paralyzing fear the terror of soldiers in combat; panic refers to a frantic, unreasoning fear, often one that spreads quickly and leads to irrational, aimless action the cry of ``fire!"" created a panic
for fear of
fear
v.
To anticipate immediate danger
be afraid, be frightened, be alarmed, lose courage, falter, stand in awe of, be scared, stand aghast, live in terror, dare not, have qualms, cower, take fright, quaver, flinch, shrink, quail, quake, cringe, shudder, freeze, turn pale, blanch, start, tremble, shy, lose one's nerve, break out in a sweat*, get cold feet*, chicken out*, wimp out*. To be apprehensive
Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Object
- reprisal: Other members of staff are said to have not filed complaints because they had feared reprisals.
Converse of object
- allay: By providing a full analysis of a project's effects, an environmental statement can help to allay fears created by lack of information.
Adjective modifier
- irrational: Being proud to have made it Have you got any irrational fears or phobias?
Modifies a noun
- factory: There are nods to Fear Factory and Diamond Head with an overwhelming theme of doom-laden ferocity.
Noun used with modifier
- relegation: While todays game will be a pressure cooker for former boss Peter Taylor Leicester have a great chance to ease their relegation fears.
Preposition: of
- reprisal: The Socialist revolutionaries, who had been freed from imprisonment, gave themselves up in fear of reprisals.
The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.
Oderint, dum metuant. Let them hate, so long as they fear.
He had a fear of the dead, and of all inanimate things, rising up around himto claim him; it isthe fearof thepre- eminently solitary child and solitary man.
Up the airy mountain, Down the rushy glen, We daren't go a-hunting, For fear of little men; Wee folk, good folk, Trooping all together; Green jacket, red cap, And white owl's feather!
Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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MLA Style
"fear." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009
- Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
- <www.yourdictionary.com/fear>
APA Style
fear. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary
- Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/fear
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