afeard
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of afeard
before 1000; Middle English afered, Old English āfǣred frightened (past participle of āfǣran ). See a- 3, fear, -ed 2
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.
While perusing, you might take the advice of Caliban, in “The Tempest”: “Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises / Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.”
From Seattle Times • Mar. 7, 2018
“Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises, sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not,” he tells the drunken, deluded butler, Stephano.
From New York Times • Oct. 14, 2014
An actor is due to recite Caliban's speech, the one that runs "Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises."
From Seattle Times • Jul. 23, 2012
"I've never been afeard of man ner beast," he said, "but when that old cateymount yowls near our house it just makes my hair stand plumb straight up on my head."
From Time Magazine Archive
There was a pause, then Joseph heard his uncle whisper, “‘Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.”’
From "The Marvels" by Brian Selznick
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.
