# fear

Pronunciation: say "FEER" US /fɪəɹ/, UK /fɪə/

## Noun

1. A strong, unpleasant emotion caused by real or imagined danger or threat, or a lasting feeling of this toward a particular thing.
   - Simple: The bad feeling you have when you think something dangerous or scary might hurt you.
   - _A wave of fear swept through the crowd as the alarm sounded._
   - _The soldiers pressed on despite their fear._
2. A worry that something bad might happen, or a specific thing or event that frightens a person.
   - Simple: A worry that something bad will happen, or a thing that someone is afraid of.
   - _There are growing fears that the drought will last into next summer._
   - _Her worst fear came true when the last flight home was canceled._
5. Awed reverence mixed with dread, especially toward God, gods, or a ruler.
   - Simple: Deep respect mixed with fear, often felt toward God or a ruler.
   - _The congregation worshipped in fear and trembling._
   - _Raised in a devout household, she grew up with a deep fear of God that shaped how she treated everyone around her._
8. A feeling of dread and anxiety on waking after heavy drinking, when one cannot recall or worries about one's behavior while drunk. *(UK)*
   - Simple: The worried, dreadful feeling you get the morning after drinking too much, when you wonder what you did.
   - _He woke at noon gripped by the fear, scrolling his phone for any clue to the night before._
   - _Nothing cures the fear quite like a fry-up and a quiet morning._

## Verb

3. To be afraid of someone or something, or to expect something with alarm; also, simply to feel afraid.
   - Simple: To be afraid of someone or something, or to feel afraid.
   - _Investors fear another sharp drop in the market._
   - _He feared the worst when the phone rang at midnight._
4. To worry about someone or something; to be afraid for their safety or well-being.
   - Simple: To worry about someone or something you care about.
   - _Many fear for the future of the planet._
   - _He feared for his friend caught out in the storm._
6. To venerate; to regard with reverent awe.
   - Simple: To deeply respect and feel awe toward someone powerful.
   - _Devout believers fear the Lord above all else._
   - _A man who fears God, the old preacher said, need fear nothing else._
7. To regret something; to be sorry to have to say it.
   - Simple: To be sorry about something or wish it were not so.
   - _I fear you may be disappointed by the final results._
   - _We fear there is nothing more to be done._

## Adjective

11. Able and capable; sturdy, strong, and in sound condition. *(dialectal)*
   - Simple: Strong, healthy, and able to do hard work.

## Verb

9. To suspect; to have doubts about something. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To suspect or doubt that something is true.
10. To frighten someone; to fill them with fear. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To make someone feel afraid.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–10** — From Middle English feer, from Old English fǣr ("calamity, sudden danger, peril"), from Proto-Germanic *fērō ("danger") and Proto-Indo-European *per- ("to go through, try"). It is related to Dutch gevaar and German Gefahr ("danger"), Latin perīculum, and is a doublet of peril. The verb comes from Old English fǣran ("to frighten"), formed from the noun.
**Meaning 11** — Proto-Indo-European *per-, meaning "to put across, ferry," and Proto-Germanic *fēriz ("passable") lie behind Old English fēre, meaning "able to go, fit for service," which became Middle English fere. Fare is a related word.

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