dread
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to fear greatly; be in extreme apprehension of.
to dread death.
- Antonyms:
- welcome
-
to be reluctant to do, meet, or experience.
I dread going to big parties.
-
Archaic. to hold in respectful awe.
verb (used without object)
noun
-
terror or apprehension as to something in the future; great fear.
-
a person or thing dreaded.
-
Informal. dreads, dreadlocks.
-
Informal. a person who wears dreadlocks.
-
Archaic. deep awe or reverence.
verb
-
to anticipate with apprehension or terror
-
to fear greatly
-
archaic to be in awe of
noun
-
great fear; horror
-
an object of terror
-
slang a Rastafarian
-
archaic deep reverence
adjective
Related Words
See fear.
Other Word Forms
- dreadable adjective
- dreadness noun
- predread noun
- undreaded adjective
- undreading adjective
Etymology
Origin of dread
First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English dreden (verb), Old English drǣdan, aphetic variant of adrǣdan, ondrǣdan; cognate with Old High German intrātan “to fear”
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.
Most retailers dread high return rates and how they can eat into profits.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
One piece of data triggers optimism, followed just days, or hours, later by apocalyptic dread.
From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026
Suddenly, Stacy must confront that cabin and her dread of defecating in an outhouse.
From Salon • Mar. 23, 2026
Now, many observers fear, the 2018 power-sharing agreement that brought relative calm could be shattered - something millions across the country dread.
From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026
They knew what it was like to lose everything overnight, and ever since the first time, they'd lived with the dread that it could happen again.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
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.
