Fear meaning

fîr

Fear is defined as to be afraid of someone or something.

An example of fear is for a child to be scared of getting a shot.

verb

A reason for dread or apprehension.

Being alone is my greatest fear.

noun

A very unpleasant or disturbing feeling caused by the presence or imminence of danger.

Our fears intensified as the storm approached.

noun

To be afraid or frightened of.

A boy who fears spiders.

verb

To be uneasy or apprehensive about.

We all feared what we would see when the grades were posted.

verb

A feeling of disquiet or apprehension.

A fear of looking foolish.

noun

Extreme reverence or awe, as toward a deity.

noun

A state or condition marked by this feeling.

Living in constant fear of attack; saved as much as he could for fear of losing his job.

noun

To consider probable; expect.

I fear you are wrong. I fear I have bad news for you.

verb

To revere or be in awe of (a deity, for example).

verb

To be afraid.

Your injury is minor. Don't fear.

verb

To be uneasy or apprehensive.

We fear for the future of the business.

verb

Respectful dread; awe; reverence.

noun

A feeling of anxiety and agitation caused by the presence or nearness of danger, evil, pain, etc.; timidity; dread; terror; fright; apprehension.

noun

A feeling of uneasiness or apprehension; concern.

A fear that it will rain.

noun

A cause for fear; possibility; chance.

There was no fear of difficulty.

noun

To fill with fear; frighten.

verb

To be afraid of; dread.

verb

To feel reverence or awe for.

verb

To expect with misgiving; suspect.

I fear I am late.

verb

To feel fear; be afraid.

verb

To be uneasy, anxious, or doubtful.

verb

Cape on an island off the SE coast of N.C.

proper name

(uncountable) A strong, uncontrollable, unpleasant emotion caused by actual or perceived danger or threat.

1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 8, The Celebrity.

I corralled the judge, and we started off across the fields, in no very mild state of fear of that gentleman's wife, whose vigilance was seldom relaxed.
1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 18, The China Governess.

‘Then the father has a great fight with his terrible conscience,’ said Munday with granite seriousness. ‘Should he make a row with the police […]? Or should he say nothing about it and condone brutality for fear of appearing in the newspapers?’.

He was struck by fear on seeing the snake.

noun

(countable) A phobia, a sense of fear induced by something or someone.

Not everybody has the same fears.

I have a fear of ants.

noun

(uncountable) Extreme veneration or awe, as toward a supreme being or deity.

noun

Shakespeare.

Tush, tush! fear boys with bugs.

verb

To feel fear about (something); to be afraid of; to consider or expect with alarm.

I fear the worst will happen.

I fear for their safety.

verb

To venerate; to feel awe towards.

People who fear God can be found in Christian churches.

verb

Regret.

I fear [regret that] I have bad news for you: your husband has died.

verb

(dialectal) Able; capable; stout; strong; sound.

Hale and fear.

adjective

The definition of fear is an emotion caused by anxiety or the uneasiness of being afraid of something or someone.

An example of fear is the feeling felt in a haunted house.

noun

Origin of fear

From Middle English feer, fere, fer, from Old English fǣr, ġefǣr (“calamity, sudden danger, peril, sudden attack, terrible sight”), from Proto-Germanic *fērą (“danger”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to attempt, try, research, risk”). Cognate with Dutch gevaar (“danger, risk, peril”), German Gefahr (“danger, risk, hazard”), Swedish fara (“danger, risk, peril”), Latin perīculum (“danger, risk, trial”), Albanian frikë (“fear,danger”).

Fear meaning

Origin of fear

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