afraid
[uh-freyd]
- feeling fear; filled with apprehension: afraid to go.
- feeling regret, unhappiness, or the like: I'm afraid we can't go on Monday.
- feeling reluctance, unwillingness, distaste, or the like: He seemed afraid to show his own children a little kindness.
Show More
Origin of afraid
variant spelling of affrayed, past participle of affray to disturb, frighten
Synonyms
See more synonyms for afraid on Thesaurus.com1. scared, fearful, disquieted, apprehensive, timid, timorous.
Synonym study
1. Afraid, alarmed, frightened, terrified all indicate a state of fear. Afraid implies inner apprehensive disquiet: afraid of the dark. Alarmed implies that the feelings are aroused through realization of some imminent or unexpected danger to oneself or others: alarmed by (or about ) someone's illness. Frightened means shocked with sudden, but usually short-lived, fear, especially that arising from apprehension of physical harm: frightened by an accident. Terrified suggests the emotional reaction when one is struck with a violent, overwhelming fear: terrified by an earthquake.
Antonyms
1. bold, confident, fearless.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for unafraid
Contemporary Examples
But the Mexican marines who grabbed him back in February were unafraid and incorruptible.
As novels go, Made to Break registers as one unafraid of criticism.
He has a tremendous sense of color and is unafraid of color, which is inspiring.
Women find him not only charming, but seductive, because, as one tells him, he is “unafraid to love women unironically.”
Complicating matters, Dick and Lynn raised both their girls to be fierce, opinionated, and unafraid to speak their minds.
Historical Examples
She was apt not only to know what she talked about, but she was a woman of resource, unafraid of action.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
He, on the other hand, being the fastest-footed, was unafraid to venture anywhere.
White FangJack London
I was sure-footed and unafraid, so at once I determined to essay the passage.
Billy Topsail & CompanyNorman Duncan
Unafraid, they caressed the unconscious locks, anointing them for their burial.
St. Cuthbert'sRobert E. Knowles
Then, too, she was unafraid and all ready to make a lively commotion.
Marjorie Dean, College SophomorePauline Lester
unafraid
- not frightenedunafraid to break new ground
Show More
afraid
- (often foll by of) feeling fear or apprehension; frightenedhe was afraid of cats
- reluctant (to do something), as through fear or timidityhe was afraid to let himself go
- (often foll by that; used to lessen the effect of an unpleasant statement) regretfulI'm afraid that I shall have to tell you to go
Show More
Word Origin
C14: affraied, past participle of affray (to frighten)
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
Word Origin and History for unafraid
afraid
adj.
early 14c., originally past participle of afray "frighten," from Anglo-French afrayer, from Old French esfreer (see affray (n.)). A rare case of an English adjective that never stands before a noun. Because it was used in A.V. Bible, it acquired independent standing and thrived while affray faded, chasing out the once more common afeared. Sense in I'm afraid "I regret to say, I suspect" (without implication of fear) is first recorded 1590s.
Her blue affrayed eyes wide open shone [Keats, "The Eve of St. Agnes," 1820]
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper