afraid
feeling fear; filled with apprehension: afraid to go.
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.
Origin of afraid
1synonym study For afraid
Other words for afraid
| 1 | scared, fearful, disquieted, apprehensive, timid, timorous |
Opposites for afraid
Other words from afraid
- half-a·fraid, adjective
- un·a·fraid, adjective
Words Nearby afraid
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use afraid in a sentence
Advisers were afraid to express positions contrary to the president’s views because they feared a public denunciation or “that they would be cut out,” she said.
Former Pence aide says she will vote for Biden because of Trump’s ‘flat out disregard for human life’ during pandemic | Josh Dawsey | September 17, 2020 | Washington PostIt gave me an absolutely liberating sensation that I could do things I would generally be afraid of.
Christian Puglisi Is Closing His Influential Copenhagen Restaurants. COVID Is Only Partly to Blame | Rafael Tonon | September 17, 2020 | EaterIf you’re in pain every time you move, he explains, it’s normal to become afraid of moving—and it’s a physical therapist’s job to enable you to start moving enough that you can move past the fear.
The best thing for back pain is actually more movement | Sara Chodosh | September 16, 2020 | Popular-ScienceThe rabies virus is just a simple packet of DNA, but its complex psychological extended phenotype influences hosts to bite and to be afraid of water, both of which help spread rabies more effectively.
We want somebody who has not been afraid to tackle those issues and has a track record to bridge the gap between the police department and Oceanside residents, particularly people of color.
Oceanside Is Rethinking Its Police Chief Hiring Process Following Community Concerns | Kayla Jimenez | September 14, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
As soon as this attack [happened], Paris citizens came together to show were are not afraid, we are Charlie Hebdo.
But we are afraid and we wonder to ourselves who will be next.
Are you excited, nervous, afraid, all of the above for the new Star Wars films?
Patton Oswalt on Fighting Conservatives With Satire | William O’Connor | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTBut at this stage, he is either afraid or unable to get carried away by his thoughts.
afraid the Korean secret police would not believe his kidnapping story, Shin settled in Hollywood.
Propaganda, Protest, and Poisonous Vipers: The Cinema War in Korea | Rich Goldstein | December 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTI am afraid, Monsieur le Marquis, that I shall be interfering with your arrangements?
The heir apparent and his brothers were cowering in fear, afraid to strike, yet hoping that others would strike for them.
The Red Year | Louis TracyBut I am afraid you would very soon get tired of us, and I ought to tell you, frankly, that our little home is to be—a broken up.
Confidence | Henry James"I'm afraid I couldn't quite manage that, my dear boy," your fond parent would respond.
Mamma has proposed to her—in view of your absence—to come and stay with us, and she does n't seem afraid of the idea.
Confidence | Henry James
British Dictionary definitions for afraid
/ (əˈfreɪd) /
(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
(often foll by that; used to lessen the effect of an unpleasant statement) regretful: I'm afraid that I shall have to tell you to go
Origin of afraid
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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