# afraid

Pronunciation: say "uh-FRAYD" /əˈfɹeɪd/

## Adjective

1. Feeling fear or worry that something dangerous or unpleasant may happen, whether to oneself or to another person or thing.
   - Simple: Scared or worried that something bad might happen to you or to someone or something else.
   - _Many new divers are afraid the first time they jump into deep water._
   - _He was too afraid to admit that he had broken the window._
2. Politely regretful, used when reluctantly telling someone something unwelcome or unpleasant.
   - Simple: Politely sorry when you have to tell someone bad news or something they do not want to hear.
   - _I'm afraid the restaurant is fully booked until next weekend._
   - _She said she was afraid the decision could not be changed._

## Origin

It comes from Middle English 'affrayed', the past participle of 'afraien' (to affray), borrowed from Anglo-Norman 'afrayer' (to terrify or disturb). This goes back to Old French 'esfreer' (to disturb the peace), built from a root meaning 'peace', ultimately linked to the words 'free' and 'friend'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/afraid (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).