trepid
Americanadjective
Usage
What does trepid mean? Trepid means afraid, apprehensive, or trembling from fear. Trepid describes a feeling of fear or apprehension, especially one accompanied with trembling. It is most often used to describe people or animals that are acting unusually uneasy, as in Josie was feeling trepid about taking her law exam. Trepid is also used to describe the actions of people feeling trepid, such as talking in a trepid voice. You’re more likely to hear people using trepidation, however. Trepidation means trembling fear, as in Fernanda’s trepidation over the championship game caused her to miss the final goal. Example: The trepid animal stepped out from the brush to take the food.
Etymology
Origin of trepid
First recorded in 1640–50, trepid is from the Latin word trepidus
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.
The trepid traveler, 76, admittedly carries around emotional baggage filled with neuroses and aversions.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 13, 2023
Figure skaters execute their routines so elegantly, they make it look easy—an illusion that quickly dissolves with our own trepid first step in an ice rink.
From Scientific American ● Feb. 9, 2018
Kane, a constant but trepid traveler, especially values some flying tips he got from E.H.
From Time Magazine Archive
Look at the poor little trepid creature, panting and helpless under the great eyes!
From The Virginians by William Makepeace Thackeray
He mastered his trepid nature as best he could, and stayed there.
From Oberheim (Voices) by Christopher Leadem
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.
