Definition of FEAR

fear

Plural: fears

Noun

  • an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight)
  • an anxious feeling
    • "they hushed it up out of fear of public reaction"
  • a feeling of profound respect for someone or something
    • "the fear of God"
  • A strong, unpleasant emotion or feeling caused by actual or perceived danger or threat.
  • A phobia, a sense of fear induced by something or someone.
  • Terrified veneration or reverence, particularly towards God, gods, or sovereigns.
  • A feeling of dread and anxiety when waking after drinking a lot of alcohol, wondering what one did while drunk.

Verb

Verb Forms: feared, fearing, fears

  • To be afraid of; to feel apprehension or dread.
  • be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
    • "I fear she might get aggressive"
  • be afraid or scared of; be frightened of
    • "I fear the winters in Moscow"
    • "We should not fear the Communists!"
  • be sorry; used to introduce an unpleasant statement
    • "I fear I won't make it to your wedding party"
  • be uneasy or apprehensive about
    • "I fear the results of the final exams"
  • regard with feelings of respect and reverence; consider hallowed or exalted or be in awe of
    • "Fear God as your father"
  • To be afraid of (something or someone); to consider or expect (something or someone) with alarm.
  • To feel fear.
  • To worry about, to feel concern for, to be afraid for [with for].
  • To venerate; to feel awe towards.
  • To regret.
  • To cause fear to; to frighten.
  • To be anxious or solicitous for.
  • To suspect; to doubt.

Adj

  • Able; capable; stout; strong; sound.

Examples

  • hale and fear
  • He began to FEAR his opponent’s consistent seven-letter plays in Words With Friends.
  • He was struck by fear on seeing the snake.
  • I fear I have bad news for you: your husband has died.
  • I fear the worst will happen.
  • Never fear; help is always near.
  • Not everybody has the same fears. I have a fear of ants.
  • People who fear God can be found in Christian churches.
  • She fears for her son’s safety.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English feer, fere, fer, from Old English fǣr, ġefǣr (“calamity, sudden danger, peril, sudden attack, terrible sight”), from Proto-Germanic *fērō, *fērą (“danger”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to go through, carry forth, try”). 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”), Romanian frică. Doublet of peril.
The verb is from Middle English feren, from Old English fǣran (“to frighten, raven”), from the noun. Cognate with the archaic Dutch verb varen (“to fear; to cause fear”).

Synonyms

awe, care, concern, dread, fearfulness, fright, revere, reverence, venerate, veneration, afraidness, be afraid of, be frightened of, be in awe of, be scared of, be terrorise, fear, hangxiety, terrorize

Scrabble Score: 7

fear: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
fear: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
fear: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 7

fear: valid Words With Friends Word