fret
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To chafe or irritate.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
frehtIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈfɹɛt
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.
verb
transitive
To chafe or irritate; to worry.
transitive
To make rough, to agitate or disturb; to cause to ripple.
intransitive
To be worn away; to chafe; to fray.
intransitive
To be anxious, to worry.
Wear away or erode
Worry unnecessarily or excessively
noun
Agitation of the surface of a fluid by fermentation or some other cause; a rippling on the surface of water.
Agitation of the mind marked by complaint and impatience; disturbance of temper; irritation.
An ornamental pattern consisting of repeated vertical and horizontal lines, often in relief.
Herpes; tetter ("any of various pustular skin conditions").
A channel, a strait; a fretum.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To chafe or irritate; to worry.
Used this way, fret is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It sounds natural in ordinary conversation and in expressive writing alike.
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Everyday but emotionally strong
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use fret
- “Don't fret over these small details.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
An ornamental pattern consisting of repeated vertical and horizontal lines (often in relief).
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: agitation of the surface of a fluid by fermentation
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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.