fear
noun
a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.
have been fearing
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present perfect progressiveof fear.present perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that began in the past, has continued continuously, and is still in progress.
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.
It also has been helping to expand the U.S. economy, and so far there isn’t evidence that it’s causing the widespread unemployment that many economists have been fearing.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
If so, that’s good news, suggesting that inflation could continue to fall without the wave of job losses that so many forecasters have been predicting, and that Americans have been fearing.
From New York Times ● Feb. 2, 2023
The most economical of the bowlers and the most fluent with the bat, many would have been fearing the worst when she was on the floor in pain just four overs into their chase.
From BBC ● Dec. 4, 2022
And, as hard as it may be to accept, there are genuine reasons to believe that the midterm elections may not be the democracy-ending bloodbath that so many of us have been fearing.
From Salon ● Jan. 3, 2022
Northrup flung his head back and laughed––“and after all I have been fearing, too!”
From At the Crossroads by Harriet T. (Harriet Theresa) Comstock
