fear
noun
a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.
fear
1 American
[feer]
/ fɪər /
noun
-
fears
plural
-
a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.
- Synonyms:
- qualm, trepidation, horror, panic, fright, terror, dread, dismay, consternation, apprehension, foreboding
- Antonyms:
- intrepidity, calm, security, courage
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a specific instance of or propensity for such a feeling.
an abnormal fear of heights.
- Antonyms:
- predilection, penchant, fondness, liking
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concern or anxiety; solicitude.
a fear for someone's safety.
-
reverential awe, especially toward God.
the fear of God.
- Synonyms:
- veneration, reverence, respect, awe
-
something that causes feelings of dread or apprehension; something a person is afraid of.
Cancer is a common fear.
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anticipation of the possibility that something unpleasant will occur.
Having grown up during the Great Depression, he had a constant fear of running out of money.
verb (used with object)
-
fears,
present (3rd person singular)
-
feared,
past participle, past
-
fearing
present participle
-
to regard with fear; be afraid of.
-
to have reverential awe of.
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to consider or anticipate (something unpleasant) with a feeling of dread or alarm.
It's about to snow again, I fear.
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Archaic. to experience fear in (oneself).
I fear me he will ne'er forgive us.
verb (used without object)
-
fears,
present (3rd person singular)
-
feared,
past participle, past
-
fearing
present participle
-
to have fear; be afraid.
I'll go with you, so do not fear!
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to feel apprehensive or uneasy (usually followed byfor ).
In this time of economic instability, I fear for my children's future.
idioms
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for fear of / that, in order to prevent or avoid the risk of.
She is afraid to say anything for fear of the consequences.
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put the fear of God in / into, to cause to be greatly afraid.
Fear
2
American
[feer]
/ fɪər /
noun
-
a river in SE North Carolina. 202 miles (325 km) long.
-
Cape, a cape at its mouth.
fear
British
/ fɪə /
noun
-
a feeling of distress, apprehension, or alarm caused by impending danger, pain, etc
-
a cause of this feeling
-
awe; reverence
fear of God
-
concern; anxiety
-
possibility; chance
there is no fear of that happening
-
to forestall or avoid
-
certainly not
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to frighten
verb
-
to be afraid (to do something) or of (a person or thing); dread
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(tr) to revere; respect
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(tr; takes a clause as object) to be sorry: used to lessen the effect of an unpleasant statement
I fear that you have not won
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to feel anxiety about something
-
an archaic word for frighten
fear
More Idioms
Synonym Usage
Fear, alarm, dread all imply a painful emotion experienced when one is confronted by threatening danger or evil. Alarm implies an agitation of the feelings caused by awakening to imminent danger; it names a feeling of fright or panic: He started up in alarm. Fear and dread usually refer more to a condition or state than to an event. Fear is often applied to an attitude toward something, which, when experienced, will cause the sensation of fright: fear of falling. Dread suggests anticipation of something, usually a particular event, which, when experienced, will be disagreeable rather than frightening: She lives in dread of losing her money. The same is often true of fear, when used in a negative statement: She has no fear of losing her money.
Pop Culture
— Fear and Trembling: A philosophical exploration of faith and ethics by Sören Kierkegaard. Published in 1843 under the pseudonym Johannes de Silentio. — Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream: A roman à clef by gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, illustrated by Ralph Steadman. First printed in 1971 as a two-part series in Rolling Stone magazine, and as a novel in 1972. — Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A film adaptation of the Hunter S. Thompson book, directed by Terry Gilliam. Released in 1998. — The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things: 1999 book by sociologist Barry Glassner, examining why Americans' fears are misplaced and exaggerated. Revised and updated in 2010. — Fear Factor: An American reality game show (2001–2006) in which contestants had to complete a series of dangerous, disgusting, or otherwise fear-inducing stunts. —No FEAR Act: The Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–174). The act, signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2002, increases Federal agency accountability for acts of discrimination or reprisal against employees.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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fearernoun
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fearlessnessnoun
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fearlessadjective
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self-fearingadjective
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unfearingadjective
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fearlesslyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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fearsimple
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fearssimple
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have fearedperfect
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has fearedperfect
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am fearingprogressive
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are fearingprogressive
-
is fearingprogressive
-
have been fearingperfect progressive
-
has been fearingperfect progressive
Past
-
fearedsimple
-
had fearedperfect
-
was fearingprogressive
-
were fearingprogressive
-
had been fearingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fear
First recorded before 900; Middle English fere, Old English fær “sudden attack or danger”; cognate with Old Saxon fār “ambush,” Dutch gevaar, German Gefahr “danger,” Old Norse fār “disaster”
Explanation
Does the sight of a snake fill you with panic and the desire to run away as quickly as possible? If so, you have a fear of snakes. People have fear for many things: bugs, guns, heights, etc. Horror movies try to fill the audience with fear. Some fears make more sense than others. The fear of jumping out of planes makes a lot of sense, but the fear of public speaking isn't as logical: it won't kill you. Fear includes anxiety and can be very emotionally painful. If you're scared of anything, you know what fear is all about.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“My fear in this is that they are seeing that playing with civil aviation is quite effective for their goals, and I don’t know where that goes from here.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
"If we believe that 'artificial' already encourages fear, 'super' seems like something far more worrisome," said Dube, calling it "a poor choice of new brand."
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
It has prompted hundreds of people to gather at refugee reception centres, fuelling anger among anti-immigration campaigners who fear the decision will encourage undocumented migration.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
She describes an experience that nearly all women fear.
From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026
I don’t have a specific fear that I need to overcome.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Management is meeting this week to determine if they need to start Healthcare Without Fear back up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
Fear on both sides can create a distance and lack of understanding, he warned, with longer absences making it much more likely a worker will drop out of the labour force altogether.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Fear of technology's dangerous consequences for society goes back far in history.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
Fear of rising interest rates is part of the “negative risk trinity” of threats to the stock market that Charlie McElligott, a strategist at Nomura, discussed with Joseph Adinolfi.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026
“You should have more respect for fear. It’s the engine in all your human history, fear. Fear, married to greed, married to power.”
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
The scheme is causing concern, with thousands of people signing a petition against it, due to fears it could harm neighbouring wildlife sites.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Investors may have reacted prematurely in selling chip stocks over fears about OpenAI’s financial position.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
But it was a few, not a majority, and their fears were overridden by an originally concerned J. Robert Oppenheimer, the project’s director, after consulting with other scientists and reviewing their calculations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
But there are ways to conquer your fears.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026
Silence hides secrets, holds back fears, but it also binds with loyalty and love.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Her ex-fiancé feared that the same person would continue to “misappropriate” items belonging to the actor’s estate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Sharpton says some legal residents he encountered around Cleveland feared being "snatched up and deported."
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
He built them back to a team fans adored and competitors feared.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Then their improbable charge showed why they’re so feared.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
But my grandparents feared that the threats would continue.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
At times, pilots have panicked, fearing they were running out of runway, and braked too hard, causing accidents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
They express confidence in public while perhaps fearing in private that a worst-case scenario could make it hopeless to try to save everyone.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
Sixteen years after fearing his career was over for good, the father-of-three is still playing the game he loves at the age of 37.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
The challenge isn’t to choose between embracing AI blindly and fearing it reflexively.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
At the thought of Mamá crying every day, fearing for our lives, tears started to prick at my eyes and I wiped them away.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
