dread

[ dred ]

/ drɛd /

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See synonyms for: dread / dreaded / dreading / dreads on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to fear greatly; be in extreme apprehension of: to dread death.

to be reluctant to do, meet, or experience: I dread going to big parties.

Archaic. to hold in respectful awe.

verb (used without object)

to be in great fear.

noun

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

a person or thing dreaded.

dreads, Informal. dreadlocks.

Informal. a person who wears dreadlocks.

Archaic. deep awe or reverence.

adjective

greatly feared; frightful; terrible.

held in awe or reverential fear.

OTHER WORDS FOR dread

10 dire, dreadful, horrible.

See synonyms for dread on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR dread

1 welcome.

See antonyms for dread on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

TAKE JOY IN ACING THIS QUIZ ON “PRIDE” SYNONYMS

Hold your head up high as you embark on this quiz that explores some of the synonyms and meanings of “pride.”

Question 1 of 7

What does "dignity" mean?

showing self-respect

treating others with kindness

acting selfishly

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of dread

1125–75; Middle English dreden (v.), Old English drǣdan, aphetic variant of adrǣdan, ondrǣdan; cognate with Old High German intrātan to fear

synonym study for dread

5. See fear.

OTHER WORDS FROM dread

dread·a·ble, adjectivedreadness, nounpre·dread, noun, verb (used with object)un·dread·ed, adjective

un·dread·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use dread in a sentence

I spent the last golden days of fall mentally preparing myself to spend winter alone, bundled up in blankets and existential dread.
This Wearable Sleeping Bag Cures the Winter Blues|Kaelyn Lynch|November 30, 2020|Outside Online
I started to dread every time I put the oximeter around my finger, fearing this would be the day that the measurement dropped below 95, the bottom end of “normal,” and Carrie would have to take me to the emergency room.
As a food writer with covid, I worried I’d lose my sense of taste. It turned out to be much worse.|Tim Carman|November 29, 2020|Washington Post
He tried not to acknowledge Wednesday as the two-year anniversary of his injury and kept noticing, with dread, the rack of throwback jerseys that Washington would wear Sunday that sat all week in the team’s training room.
Methodical and efficient, Alex Smith wins first start since before his injury|Les Carpenter|November 23, 2020|Washington Post
There are always holiday naysayers who dread Thanksgiving, loathe “It’s a Wonderful Life” and shout, “Bah, humbug!”
Bah, humbug! Pandemic exacerbates holiday blues|Kathi Wolfe|November 22, 2020|Washington Blade

The new Supreme Court term will open on Monday under a cloud of uncertainty — and dread, if you’re a liberal.
7 big cases the Supreme Court will hear in its new term, explained|Ian Millhiser|October 1, 2020|Vox
Gävle Goat must be dreading the imminent holiday and his fifty-fifty chance of destruction.
Sweden’s Burning Christmas Goat|Nina Strochlic|December 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Is it possible to really look forward to something, while dreading it too?
How to Make It Through Thanksgiving Alive|Lizzie Crocker|November 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I was dreading that moment, because there I was thinking I was wasting all of my money and I would have no more savings.
Meet Justin Jedlica, the Real Life Ken Doll|Erin Cunningham|April 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For Kentucky fans dreading a gut-wrenching defeat, suddenly the impossible was possible!
Was Aaron Harrison’s Game-Winning Three-Pointer ‘Clutch’?|Robert Silverman|April 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I became paranoid and avoided her neighborhood, dreading the idea of running into her.
Model Diaries: Escape From Istanbul|Anonymous|March 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
"Yes, yes," cried his lordship impatiently, dreading a repetition of what had occasioned him such intense pain.
The World Before Them|Susanna Moodie
She guessed what was coming; she had been a good deal afraid of it all the time; it was her only cause of dreading Coronado.
Overland|John William De Forest
It might have been fancied that Nature, dreading his bold spirit, adopted the plan of slowly undermining his bodily power.
Toilers of the Sea|Victor Hugo
Michael Strogoff could not help smiling at the epithet bestowed on him, dreading spies as he did above all else.
Michael Strogoff|Jules Verne
Quin had been dreading the question, but when it came he did not evade it.
Quin|Alice Hegan Rice

British Dictionary definitions for dread

dread

/ (drɛd) /

verb (tr)

to anticipate with apprehension or terror

to fear greatly

archaic to be in awe of

noun

great fear; horror

an object of terror

slang a Rastafarian

archaic deep reverence

adjective

literary awesome; awe-inspiring

Word Origin for dread

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

dread

OTHER WORDS FOR dread

OPPOSITES FOR dread

Origin of dread

synonym study for dread

OTHER WORDS FROM dread

Words related to dread

How to use dread in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dread

Word Origin for dread