As I fretted over whether it was safe for her ingest the body paint, she extolled its benefits.
Rivers told me in both 2010 and 2014 that, when thinking about dying herself, she fretted most about her daughter Melissa.
Last week I fretted that America—and American business, in particular—seemed to be running out of ideas.
Behind the scenes, he threw spectacular parties, fretted over his ratings, and stayed loyal to his friends.
Nearly every critic of the Iranian-American and Muslim author has fretted over whether he has the right to tackle his subject.
I tell you, lad, that I am all undone, like a fretted bow-string.
fretted by the pain, he plunged into the wilderness to hide like a wounded deer.
And the hot ferment of Paris life seethed and fretted all around him.
But to-day he was fretted and chafed by long waiting for that answer to his letter.
He had just been fretted sufficiently to find fault with her dress.
"be peevish or worried," early 12c., from Old English fretan "eat, devour" (in Old English used of monsters and Vikings; in Middle English used of animals' eating), from Proto-Germanic compound *fra- "for-" + *etan "to eat" (cf. Dutch vreton, Old High German freggan, German fressen, Gothic fraitan). Transitive sense of "eat away" is from late 12c. Figurative sense of "irritate, worry, eat one's heart out" is c.1200. Modern German still distinguishes essen for humans and fressen for animals. Related: Fretted; fretting. As a noun, from early 15c.
"ornamental interlaced pattern," late 14c., from Old French frete "interlaced work, trellis work," probably from Frankish *fetur or another Germanic source (cf. Old English fetor, Old High German feggara "fetter") perhaps from notion of "decorative anklet," or of materials "bound" together. The other noun, "ridge on the fingerboard of a guitar," is c.1500 of unknown origin but possibly another sense of Old French frete.
