afraid
Americanadjective
-
feeling fear; filled with apprehension.
afraid to go.
- Synonyms:
- timorous, timid, apprehensive, fearful, scared
-
feeling regret, unhappiness, or the like.
I'm afraid we can't go on Monday.
-
feeling reluctance, unwillingness, distaste, or the like.
He seemed afraid to show his own children a little kindness.
adjective
-
(often foll by of) feeling fear or apprehension; frightened
he was afraid of cats
-
reluctant (to do something), as through fear or timidity
he was afraid to let himself go
-
regretful
I'm afraid that I shall have to tell you to go
Synonym Usage
Afraid, alarmed, frightened, terrified all indicate a state of fear. Afraid implies inner apprehensive disquiet: afraid of the dark. Alarmed implies that the feelings are aroused through realization of some imminent or unexpected danger to oneself or others: alarmed by (or about ) someone's illness. Frightened means shocked with sudden, but usually short-lived, fear, especially that arising from apprehension of physical harm: frightened by an accident. Terrified suggests the emotional reaction when one is struck with a violent, overwhelming fear: terrified by an earthquake.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of afraid
Variant spelling of affrayed, past participle of affray to disturb, frighten
Explanation
To be afraid is to be scared. People are afraid of snakes, bugs, heights, bears, death, and public speaking, among other things. Being afraid means you have a fear of something — and people are afraid of all sorts of things, from guns to ghosts to being in arguments. People also say, "I'm afraid I have some bad news," which doesn't mean they're afraid of the news, but sorry that they have to share it. It's a similar situation for the saying "I'm afraid so," which is a nice way of saying "I'm sorry, but the answer is yes."
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.
“And, in a way, it kind of needs to be a startup because the big incumbents are not going to move as fast. They’re going to be afraid of backlash.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
If we lift the hood on some of these conspiracies, we can understand what people are really afraid of.
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2026
Seham, 12, said she felt "afraid" to remove her headscarf at school "because I'd worn it for two years and it felt like a part of me".
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
"I could tell that she was, like, afraid."
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Opal and the miller were probably afraid to tell the king that they had deceived him.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
