feared

1. 1
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of fear.

   The villagers feared the coming winter more than the raiders.

   Doctors had long feared an outbreak in the crowded camps.

   Note

   A regular past form with one spelling for two jobs. It stands alone in the simple past (they feared the worst) and follows have or be as the participle (had feared, was feared). Middle English wrote it ferd or fered. Watch the preposition: feared for means worried on someone's behalf, not afraid of them. The passive leads straight to the adjective of awe and respect.

2. 2
   adjective

   Describing a person or thing that causes great fear in others.

   The feared general led his troops into the valley at dawn.

   Across the region she was a feared and ruthless competitor.

   Similardreaded, fearsome, formidable, redoubtable, terrifying

   Oppositeharmless, unthreatening

3. 3
   adjective

   Held in fear, respect, or reverence by others.

   The feared monarch commanded both dread and devotion from her subjects.

   Ancient warriors were feared and revered almost as gods.

   Similarrevered, respected, dreaded

   Oppositedespised, scorned

   Note

   Here fear shades into awe. The verb fear can also mean to venerate, and this adjective keeps that reverence alongside the dread. It sits close to the frightening sense but tilts the other way: it names the regard others hold, not the menace a person gives off. That is why it pairs so naturally with revered, honored or respected.

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