fear

fear  (fîr)

n.

1.

a. A feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger.

b. A state or condition marked by this feeling: living in fear.

2. A feeling of disquiet or apprehension: a fear of looking foolish.

3. Extreme reverence or awe, as toward a supreme power.

4. A reason for dread or apprehension: Being alone is my greatest fear.

v. feared, fear·ing, fears

v.tr.

1. To be afraid or frightened of.

2. To be uneasy or apprehensive about: feared the test results.

3. To be in awe of; revere.

4. To consider probable; expect: I fear you are wrong. I fear I have bad news for you.

5. Archaic To feel fear within (oneself).

v.intr.

1. To be afraid.

2. To be uneasy or apprehensive.

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[Middle English fer, from Old English fr, danger, sudden calamity; see per-³ in Indo-European roots.]

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fearer n.

Synonyms: fear, fright, dread, terror, horror, panic, alarm, dismay, consternation, trepidation
These nouns denote the agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger. Fear is the most general term: "Fear is the parent of cruelty" J.A. Froude.
Fright is sudden, usually momentary, great fear: In my fright, I forgot to lock the door.
Dread is strong fear, especially of what one is powerless to avoid: His dread of strangers kept him from socializing.
Terror is intense, overpowering fear: "And now at the dead hour of the night, amid the dreadful silence of that old house, so strange a noise as this excited me to uncontrollable terror" Edgar Allan Poe.
Horror is a combination of fear and aversion or repugnance: Murder arouses widespread horror.
Panic is sudden frantic fear, often groundless: The fire caused a panic among the horses.
Alarm is fright aroused by the first realization of danger: I watched with alarm as the sky darkened.
Dismay robs one of courage or the power to act effectively: The rumor of war caused universal dismay.
Consternation is often paralyzing, characterized by confusion and helplessness: Consternation gripped the city as the invaders approached.
Trepidation is dread characteristically marked by trembling or hesitancy: "They were ... full of trepidation about things that were never likely to happen" John Morley.

Word History: Old English fr, the ancestor of our word fear, meant "calamity, disaster," but not the emotion engendered by such an event. This is in line with the meaning of the prehistoric Common Germanic word *fraz, "danger," which is the source of words with similar senses in other Germanic languages, such as Old Saxon and Old High German fr, "ambush, danger," and Old Icelandic fr, "treachery, damage." Scholars have determined the form and meaning of Germanic *fraz by working backward from the forms and the meanings of its descendants. The most important cause of the change of meaning in the word fear was probably the existence in Old English of the related verb fran, which meant "to terrify, take by surprise." Fear is first recorded in Middle English with the sense "emotion of fear" in a work composed around 1290.

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fear

Noun

1. a feeling of distress or alarm caused by danger or pain that is about to happen

2. something that causes fear

3. possibility or likelihood: there is no fear of her agreeing to that

4. no fear Informal certainly not

Verb

1. to be afraid of (someone or something)

2. Formal to be sorry: I fear the children were not very good yesterday

3. fear for to feel anxiety about something [Old English fǣr]

fearless adj
fearlessly adv

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Fear

See also phobias.

horripilation

the raising of the hairs on the skin as a response to cold or fear; goose bumps or goose pimples.

panophobia

1. a nonspecific fear, a state of general anxiety.
2. an abnormal fear of everything. Also panphobia, pantaphobia, pantophobia. — panophobe, n. — panophobic, adj.

phobophobia

1. an abnormal fear of being af raid; a fear of fear itself.
2. a fear of phobias.

polyphobia

an abnormal fear of many things.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	fear - an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight) fearfulness, fright emotion - any strong feeling alarm, consternation, dismay - fear resulting from the awareness of danger creeps - a feeling of fear and revulsion; "he gives me the creeps" frisson, quiver, shudder, tingle, chill, thrill, shiver - an almost pleasurable sensation of fright; "a frisson of surprise shot through him" horror - intense and profound fear hysteria - excessive or uncontrollable fear affright, panic, terror - an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety panic attack, scare - a sudden attack of fear stage fright - fear that affects a person about to face an audience apprehension, apprehensiveness, dread - fearful expectation or anticipation; "the student looked around the examination room with apprehension" timidity, timidness, timorousness - fear of the unknown or unfamiliar or fear of making decisions intimidation - the feeling of being intimidated; being made to feel afraid or timid cold sweat - the physical condition of concurrent perspiration and chill; associated with fear fearlessness, bravery - feeling no fear
	2.	fear - an anxious feeling; "care had aged him"; "they hushed it up out of fear of public reaction" concern, care anxiety - a vague unpleasant emotion that is experienced in anticipation of some (usually ill-defined) misfortune
	3.	fear - a feeling of profound respect for someone or something; "the fear of God"; "the Chinese reverence for the dead"; "the French treat food with gentle reverence"; "his respect for the law bordered on veneration" reverence, veneration, awe emotion - any strong feeling
Verb	1.	fear - be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event; "I fear she might get aggressive" worry - be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy; "I worry about my job"
	2.	fear - be afraid or scared of; be frightened of; "I fear the winters in Moscow"; "We should not fear the Communists!" dread panic - be overcome by a sudden fear; "The students panicked when told that final exams were less than a week away"
	3.	fear - be sorry; used to introduce an unpleasant statement; "I fear I won't make it to your wedding party" regret - express with regret; "I regret to say that you did not gain admission to Harvard"
	4.	fear - be uneasy or apprehensive about; "I fear the results of the final exams"
	5.	fear - regard with feelings of respect and reverence; consider hallowed or exalted or be in awe of; "Fear God as your father"; "We venerate genius" reverence, venerate, revere esteem, respect, value, prise, prize - regard highly; think much of; "I respect his judgement"; "We prize his creativity" saint, enshrine - hold sacred worship - show devotion to (a deity); "Many Hindus worship Shiva"

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fear

noun 1. dread, horror, panic, terror, dismay, awe, fright, tremors, qualms, consternation, alarm, trepidation, timidity, fearfulness, blue funk (informal) apprehensiveness, cravenness

noun 2. bugbear, bête noire, horror, nightmare, anxiety, terror, dread, spectre, phobia, bogey, thing (informal)

noun 3. anxiety, concern, worry, doubt, nerves (informal) distress, suspicion, willies (informal) creeps (informal) butterflies (informal) funk (informal) angst, unease, apprehension, misgiving(s), nervousness, agitation, foreboding(s), uneasiness, solicitude, blue funk (informal) heebie-jeebies (informal) collywobbles (informal) disquietude

noun 4. awe, wonder, respect, worship, dread, reverence, veneration

verb 5. be afraid of, dread, be scared of, be frightened of, shudder at, be fearful of, be apprehensive about, tremble at, be terrified by, have a horror of, take fright at, have a phobia about, have qualms about, live in dread of, be in a blue funk about (informal) have butterflies in your stomach about (informal) shake in your shoes about

verb 6. revere, respect, reverence, venerate, stand in awe of

verb 7. regret, feel, suspect, have a feeling, have a hunch, have a sneaking suspicion, have a funny feeling

fear for something or someone worry about, be concerned about, be anxious about, tremble for, be distressed about, feel concern for, be disquieted over

Translations

fear [fɪəʳ] n → miedo, temor m

vt → temer;

for fear of → por temor a;

fear of heights → vértigo;

to fear for/that → temer por/que

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fear [fɪəʳ] n → crainte f, peur f

vt → craindre

vi to fear for → craindre pour;

to fear that → craindre que;

fear of heights → vertige m;

for fear of → de peur que + sub or de + infinitive

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fear [fɪəʳ] n → Furcht f, Angst f

vt → fürchten, Angst haben vor +dat;

(be worried about) → befürchten

vi → sich fürchten;

fear of heights → Höhenangst f;

for fear of doing sth → aus Angst, etw zu tun;

to fear for → fürchten um;

to fear that ... → befürchten, dass ...

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fear [fɪəʳ] n → paura, timore m

vt → aver paura di, temere

vi to fear for → temere per, essere in ansia per;

fear of heights → vertigini fpl;

for fear of → per paura di;

to fear that → avere paura di (or che + sub); temere di (or che + sub)