fear
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A strong, uneasy feeling caused by danger or worry
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
firIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈfɪɹ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
An anxious feeling
A feeling of profound respect for someone or something
uncountable
A strong, unpleasant emotion or feeling caused by actual or perceived danger or threat.
countable
A phobia, a sense of fear induced by something or someone in particular.
UKwith definite article"the fear"
A feeling of dread and anxiety when waking after drinking a lot of alcohol, wondering what one did while drunk.
uncountable
Terrified veneration or reverence, particularly towards God, gods, or sovereigns.
verb
Be afraid or scared of; be frightened of
“I fear the winters in Moscow.”
Be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
“I fear she might get aggressive.”
transitive
To be afraid of (something or someone); to consider or expect (something or someone) with alarm.
intransitive
To worry about, to feel concern for, to be afraid for [with for].
transitive
To venerate; to feel awe towards.
transitive
To regret.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
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More ways to use fear
- “I fear I won't make it to your wedding party.”verb
- “I fear the winters in Moscow.”verb
- “I fear she might get aggressive.”verb
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Lacking courage.
Oblivious of dangers or perils or calmly resolute in facing them.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A cape in southeastern North Carolina extending into the Atlantic Ocean.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.