Library / English Dictionary

FEAR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

An emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight)

Synonyms:

fear; fearfulness; fright

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Hypernyms ("fear" is a kind of...):

emotion (any strong feeling)

Meronyms (parts of "fear"):

cold sweat (the physical condition of concurrent perspiration and chill; associated with fear)

Attribute:

fearless; unafraid (oblivious of dangers or perils or calmly resolute in facing them)

afraid (filled with fear or apprehension)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fear"):

alarm; consternation; dismay (fear resulting from the awareness of danger)

creeps (a feeling of fear and revulsion)

chill; frisson; quiver; shiver; shudder; thrill; tingle (an almost pleasurable sensation of fright)

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)

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)

Antonym:

fearlessness (feeling no fear)

Derivation:

fear (be afraid or scared of; be frightened of)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A feeling of profound respect for someone or something

Example:

his respect for the law bordered on veneration

Synonyms:

awe; fear; reverence; veneration

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Hypernyms ("fear" is a kind of...):

emotion (any strong feeling)

Derivation:

fear (regard with feelings of respect and reverence; consider hallowed or exalted or be in awe of)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An anxious feeling

Example:

they hushed it up out of fear of public reaction

Synonyms:

care; concern; fear

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Hypernyms ("fear" is a kind of...):

anxiety (a vague unpleasant emotion that is experienced in anticipation of some (usually ill-defined) misfortune)

Derivation:

fear (be uneasy or apprehensive about)

fear (be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Regard with feelings of respect and reverence; consider hallowed or exalted or be in awe of

Example:

We venerate genius

Synonyms:

fear; revere; reverence; venerate

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Hypernyms (to "fear" is one way to...):

esteem; prise; prize; respect; value (regard highly; think much of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fear"):

enshrine; saint (hold sacred)

worship (show devotion to (a deity))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

fear (a feeling of profound respect for someone or something)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be afraid or scared of; be frightened of

Example:

We should not fear the Communists!

Synonyms:

dread; fear

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fear"):

panic (be overcome by a sudden fear)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

Sam cannot fear Sue

Derivation:

fear (an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight))

Sense 3

Meaning:

Be uneasy or apprehensive about

Example:

I fear the results of the final exams

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

fear (an anxious feeling)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Be sorry; used to introduce an unpleasant statement

Example:

I fear I won't make it to your wedding party

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Hypernyms (to "fear" is one way to...):

regret (express with regret)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sense 5

Meaning:

Be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event

Example:

I fear she might get aggressive

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Hypernyms (to "fear" is one way to...):

worry (be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s PP
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sentence example:

They fear that there was a traffic accident

Derivation:

fear (an anxious feeling)

Credits

 Context examples: 

It was not born of any knowledge of his, yet it was the visible expression of the fear that was in him, and for which, in his own life, there was no accounting.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

It has always been at night-time that I have been molested or threatened, or in some way in danger or in fear.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

My fears incline to the same point.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

It was fear—a deep, secret, shrinking fear.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

In other words, you fear a mutiny.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

And do not you fear the fierce vengeance of my arm wreaked on your miserable head?

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

“You’ll keep your hat on your head like an honest, God-fearing man, John,” said his wife, turning back into the house.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“And let ten of Sir Oliver's bowmen do as much for the Genoese. I have no mind as yet to show them how much they have to fear from us.”

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The huntsman replied: “Lord, I will venture it at my own risk, of fear I know nothing.”

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

Dangers to ancient Antarctic ice portend a future of rapidly rising seas, but a new study may relieve one nagging fear.

(Reframing the dangers Antarctica's meltwater ponds pose to ice shelves and sea level, National Science Foundation)