fear
Forms
- Plural
- fears
- present (v1)
- fear
- past (v2)
- feared
- past participle (v3)
- feared
- present participle
- fearing
- 3rd person singular
- fears
Definitions
1.A strong, unpleasant emotion or feeling caused by actual or perceived danger or threat.
- He was struck by fear on seeing the snake.
- 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.
- Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. The clear light of the bright autumn morning had no terrors for youth and health like hers.
2.Terrified veneration or reverence, particularly towards God, gods, or sovereigns.
- The feare of the Lord is the beginning of wisedome.
- That sacred dread of all offence to him, which is called the Fear of God.
3.A phobia, a sense of fear induced by something or someone in particular.
- Not everybody has the same fears.
- I have a fear of ants.
4.Something one is afraid of; the object of one’s fear.
- Spiders are my greatest fear.
1.To be afraid of (something or someone); to consider or expect (something or someone) with alarm.
- I greatly fear my money is not safe.
- I fear the worst will happen.
- And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
2.To worry about, to feel concern for, to be afraid for [with for].
- She fears for her son’s safety.
3.To venerate; to feel awe towards.
- People who fear God can be found in Christian churches.
4.To feel fear.
- Never fear; help is always near.
- Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Frequency
Overall
Common· #1100
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Uncommon
- General reading & writing
- Common
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Uncommon
Etymology
From Middle English feer, fere, fer (“fear”), 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, hazard, risk”), Danish fare (“danger, hazard, risk”), Faroese and Icelandic fár (“accident, anger, calamity”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk fare (“danger”), Swedish fara (“danger, risk, peril”), Latin perīculum (“danger, risk, trial”), Ancient Greek πεῖρα (peîra, “trial, experiment”), Armenian փորձ (pʻorj, “attempt”). Doublet of peril.