dread
Americanverb (used with object)
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to fear greatly; be in extreme apprehension of.
to dread death.
- Antonyms:
- welcome
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to be reluctant to do, meet, or experience.
I dread going to big parties.
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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.
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Informal. dreads, dreadlocks.
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Informal. a person who wears dreadlocks.
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Archaic. deep awe or reverence.
verb
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to anticipate with apprehension or terror
-
to fear greatly
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archaic to be in awe of
noun
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great fear; horror
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an object of terror
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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.
And last year, after filming his first time singing the “ABCs,” I got the dreaded “Storage full” notice from Google.
I laughed too—until a wave of dread set in.
"We dreaded going to the post box because eventually the bills racked up, and we realized the extent of the money that we owed - which was over $200,000".
From BBC
How could she act so thrilled when he felt almost paralyzed with dread?
From Literature
A reassuring face on morning television in the US, Savannah Guthrie now finds herself at the same intersection of hope and dread that has defined many of her interviewees.
From BBC
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.
