dread
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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
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terror or apprehension as to something in the future; great fear.
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a person or thing dreaded.
-
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
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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
Synonym Usage
See fear.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
dreadsimple
-
dreadssimple
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have dreadedperfect
-
has dreadedperfect
-
am dreadingprogressive
-
are dreadingprogressive
-
is dreadingprogressive
-
have been dreadingperfect progressive
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has been dreadingperfect progressive
Past
-
dreadedsimple
-
had dreadedperfect
-
was dreadingprogressive
-
were dreadingprogressive
-
had been dreadingperfect progressive
Future
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”
Explanation
The noun dread describes the fear of something bad happening, like the dread you feel when walking alone on a deserted street in the dark. Dread is a feeling of fear, but it can also be the desire to avoid something. For example, many people feel dread at the very thought of speaking in front of an audience. As a verb, dread means "to fear or not want something to happen," like students who did not study and as a result, dread getting their graded tests back. As an adjective, dread means "frightening or terrifying," like a dread monster.
Vocabulary lists containing dread
The Grim Reader: Wicked Words of Grave Importance for Halloween
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Uncanny, Creepy, or Downright Scary: Words For Halloween
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"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
It’s really no wonder that Neill would go on to play characters who echoed Mark’s descent into madness, splitting off into equally extraordinary works of spine-tingling creature feature dread.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
“Gimme Shelter” reflected the growing dread of the times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
She added: "When I woke up on Monday and realised it was going to clash there was a little bit of dread, but I have come around to it."
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
"This is an easily defanged myth that has generated dread, panic, and real-life consequences," said William Hayes, professor of biology at Loma Linda University School of Medicine and the study's lead researcher.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026
Choked with dread, I expected the nurse to lead me to an empty bed, her hands folded and her face shaped in careful sympathy.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
It's the call any player dreads - because even in today's club-centric landscape, representing your country at a World Cup remains the pinnacle.
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
She dreads the day a doctor may offer her the option: an indication that the state is resigned to give up on people like her.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025
Ferrara admits she could also just drive to the Nevada city, but she dreads the prospect of a four-hour-plus ride.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 8, 2025
And if someone in the administration can’t predict the president’s every thought, they risk being slapped with the moniker every Housewife dreads: “one-season-wonder.”
From Salon ● Mar. 15, 2025
Dolls with twists and dreads, pressed hair and hair wrapped in fabric with African print.
From "Watch Us Rise" by Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan
But he does sugarcoat his technological limitations as a 67-year-old comic in the dreaded age of video calls with a punchy Chicano twist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
These sessions, along with daily Dharma talks, both of which I’d dreaded, turned out to be the retreat’s highlight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
No trust can completely eliminate the dreaded possibility that your sons will eventually use their own money, if they receive additional money from you, to help their father or his partner.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
Framed this way, mathematicians are not in a race against A.I.s, waiting for the dreaded Kasparov moment when we become supplanted.
From Slate ● Jun. 22, 2026
Hayes dreaded an administration led by those two.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
Not everyone is dreading the nightmare of windy conditions drying out the greens this weekend, though.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
"We've gone from dreading a haircut, not knowing what he would be like, to him loving going there," he says.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
The couple is among thousands of immigrant parents hiding in their homes in Minneapolis, dreading that federal agents will come knocking.
From Barron's ● Feb. 2, 2026
The scene everyone is dreading and/or waiting for doesn’t exist, so what exists in its place?
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2025
Coach West called an extra practice, saying we’ve gotten soft over winter break, and I’m dreading it.
From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée
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.
