dread

[dred]

verb (used with object)

1. to fear greatly; be in extreme apprehension of.

   to dread death.

   Antonyms: welcome

2. to be reluctant to do, meet, or experience.

   I dread going to big parties.

3. Archaic.,  to hold in respectful awe.

verb (used without object)

1. to be in great fear.

noun

1. terror or apprehension as to something in the future; great fear.

2. a person or thing dreaded.

3. Informal.,  dreads, dreadlocks.

4. Informal.,  a person who wears dreadlocks.

5. Archaic.,  deep awe or reverence.

adjective

1. greatly feared; frightful; terrible.

   Synonyms: horrible, dreadful, dire

2. held in awe or reverential fear.

dread

/ drɛd /

verb

1. to anticipate with apprehension or terror

2. to fear greatly

3. archaic,  to be in awe of

noun

1. great fear; horror

2. an object of terror

3. slang,  a Rastafarian

4. archaic,  deep reverence

adjective

1. literary,  awesome; awe-inspiring

Other Word Forms

• dreadable adjective
• dreadness noun
• predread noun
• undreaded adjective
• undreading adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dread¹

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of dread¹

Old English ondrǣdan; related to Old Saxon antdrādan, Old High German intrātan

Synonym Study

See fear.

Example Sentences

Once inside, the bird perches on a carved head of Pallas before engaging the man in a strange conversation in which it repeats a single dread word.

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The Argentine author, whose writing habitually draws on the uncanny, here delivers a blend of superstition, dread and a leitmotif of mental instability in a register of acute psychological realism.

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Though I dreaded my early classes, I was determined.

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Now, at least, you can note that you’re caught in a widespread hiring slowdown if you get the dreaded “résumé gap” question in a job interview.

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Digging through the laundry for a jersey, once a dreaded weekend morning chore, gave me a comforting jolt of familiarity.

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Related Words

• apprehension 
• awe 
• consternation 
• dismay 
• horror 
• panic 
• phobia 
• terror 
• trepidation