fear
noun
a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.
fear
1 American
[feer]
/ fɪər /
noun
-
fears
plural
-
a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.
- Synonyms:
- qualm, trepidation, horror, panic, fright, terror, dread, dismay, consternation, apprehension, foreboding
- Antonyms:
- intrepidity, calm, security, courage
-
a specific instance of or propensity for such a feeling.
an abnormal fear of heights.
- Antonyms:
- predilection, penchant, fondness, liking
-
concern or anxiety; solicitude.
a fear for someone's safety.
-
reverential awe, especially toward God.
the fear of God.
- Synonyms:
- veneration, reverence, respect, awe
-
something that causes feelings of dread or apprehension; something a person is afraid of.
Cancer is a common fear.
-
anticipation of the possibility that something unpleasant will occur.
Having grown up during the Great Depression, he had a constant fear of running out of money.
verb (used with object)
-
fears,
present (3rd person singular)
-
feared,
past participle, past
-
fearing
present participle
-
to regard with fear; be afraid of.
-
to have reverential awe of.
-
to consider or anticipate (something unpleasant) with a feeling of dread or alarm.
It's about to snow again, I fear.
-
Archaic. to experience fear in (oneself).
I fear me he will ne'er forgive us.
verb (used without object)
-
fears,
present (3rd person singular)
-
feared,
past participle, past
-
fearing
present participle
-
to have fear; be afraid.
I'll go with you, so do not fear!
-
to feel apprehensive or uneasy (usually followed byfor ).
In this time of economic instability, I fear for my children's future.
idioms
-
for fear of / that, in order to prevent or avoid the risk of.
She is afraid to say anything for fear of the consequences.
-
put the fear of God in / into, to cause to be greatly afraid.
Fear
2
American
[feer]
/ fɪər /
noun
-
a river in SE North Carolina. 202 miles (325 km) long.
-
Cape, a cape at its mouth.
fear
British
/ fɪə /
noun
-
a feeling of distress, apprehension, or alarm caused by impending danger, pain, etc
-
a cause of this feeling
-
awe; reverence
fear of God
-
concern; anxiety
-
possibility; chance
there is no fear of that happening
-
to forestall or avoid
-
certainly not
-
to frighten
verb
-
to be afraid (to do something) or of (a person or thing); dread
-
(tr) to revere; respect
-
(tr; takes a clause as object) to be sorry: used to lessen the effect of an unpleasant statement
I fear that you have not won
-
to feel anxiety about something
-
an archaic word for frighten
fear
More Idioms
Synonym Usage
Fear, alarm, dread all imply a painful emotion experienced when one is confronted by threatening danger or evil. Alarm implies an agitation of the feelings caused by awakening to imminent danger; it names a feeling of fright or panic: He started up in alarm. Fear and dread usually refer more to a condition or state than to an event. Fear is often applied to an attitude toward something, which, when experienced, will cause the sensation of fright: fear of falling. Dread suggests anticipation of something, usually a particular event, which, when experienced, will be disagreeable rather than frightening: She lives in dread of losing her money. The same is often true of fear, when used in a negative statement: She has no fear of losing her money.
Pop Culture
— Fear and Trembling: A philosophical exploration of faith and ethics by Sören Kierkegaard. Published in 1843 under the pseudonym Johannes de Silentio. — Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream: A roman à clef by gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, illustrated by Ralph Steadman. First printed in 1971 as a two-part series in Rolling Stone magazine, and as a novel in 1972. — Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A film adaptation of the Hunter S. Thompson book, directed by Terry Gilliam. Released in 1998. — The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things: 1999 book by sociologist Barry Glassner, examining why Americans' fears are misplaced and exaggerated. Revised and updated in 2010. — Fear Factor: An American reality game show (2001–2006) in which contestants had to complete a series of dangerous, disgusting, or otherwise fear-inducing stunts. —No FEAR Act: The Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–174). The act, signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2002, increases Federal agency accountability for acts of discrimination or reprisal against employees.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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fearernoun
-
fearlessnessnoun
-
fearlessadjective
-
self-fearingadjective
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unfearingadjective
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fearlesslyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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fearsimple
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fearssimple
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have fearedperfect
-
has fearedperfect
-
am fearingprogressive
-
are fearingprogressive
-
is fearingprogressive
-
have been fearingperfect progressive
-
has been fearingperfect progressive
Past
-
fearedsimple
-
had fearedperfect
-
was fearingprogressive
-
were fearingprogressive
-
had been fearingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fear
First recorded before 900; Middle English fere, Old English fær “sudden attack or danger”; cognate with Old Saxon fār “ambush,” Dutch gevaar, German Gefahr “danger,” Old Norse fār “disaster”
Explanation
Does the sight of a snake fill you with panic and the desire to run away as quickly as possible? If so, you have a fear of snakes. People have fear for many things: bugs, guns, heights, etc. Horror movies try to fill the audience with fear. Some fears make more sense than others. The fear of jumping out of planes makes a lot of sense, but the fear of public speaking isn't as logical: it won't kill you. Fear includes anxiety and can be very emotionally painful. If you're scared of anything, you know what fear is all about.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
That could be a sign that artificial intelligence isn’t yet sapping white-collar jobs to the degree some people fear.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
Sitting at the top of the food chain, they don’t have much to fear.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
"I was filled with fear," Kapoor told the BBC Asian Network's Haroon Rashid.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
The chart below shows that the SOX dropped below the line that has defined its uptrend since the April 2025 bottom, so there’s a growing fear that the answer is yes.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026
I thought Hannie would be the one person in this world who would understand my dilemma, who might even share my fear.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
Fear not, we’ll be back in your inbox tomorrow to do some more explaining about what these results mean.
From Slate ● Nov. 4, 2026
Fear does a lot of things, and although it can often present as anger, your stepmother should be afforded some grace.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026
Fear of saying the wrong thing or intruding at a sensitive time can leave people worried about getting it wrong and avoiding reaching out altogether.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
A local captain told me he had seen a CrossWave at Frying Pan Shoals Tower, 30 nautical miles off Cape Fear.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
Fear flashed through Hunt’s mind: Was the doctor on his way to his office?
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
He now fears some people may have missed important correspondence, potentially affecting their access to essential services.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
Stocks endured a broad beating on Thursday, unlike anything seen in years, as fears of an end to the artificial-intelligence trade compelled investors to sell first and ask questions later.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026
The British chip blueprint designer reported solid results but failed to ease fears about weak demand for smartphones.
From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026
Advice columnist Steffi Cao counsels a letter writer who fears she has no game.
From Slate ● Nov. 5, 2026
For a moment my soul was elevated from its debasing and miserable fears to contemplate the divine ideas of liberty and self-sacrifice of which these sights were the monuments and the remembrancers.
From "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley
Now, the Massachusetts Democrat is about to take the controls of the powerful Senate Banking Committee, giving her the kind of expansive authority over the financial industry she’s long sought—and Wall Street has feared.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
Going into filming Season 2 of the Apple TV series “Stick,” which premieres Wednesday, he feared shooting would take place away from L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
People living near the site said they feared developers JGP Properties Limited would come back with amended proposals.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
It’s on the last disc with the Atmos remixes, and at first I feared it would be poor-quality footage added simply because it existed.
From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2026
Suddenly the market feared that Capital One wasn’t actually smarter than everyone else in their industry about making loans but simply better at hiding their losses.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Agents and mortgage brokers report that buyers have fled to the sidelines fearing high monthly payments, while some buyers now can’t even qualify for the mortgage they were targeting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
Some boomer and Gen X parents and grandparents, however, are hesitant, fearing doing this could endanger their own financial security if they run into steep healthcare or long-term-care costs.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 31, 2026
Radic said he fled, fearing he would be jailed for his journalism and could return to Serbia safely only if "the government changes".
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
She added: "Members of parliament and their staff must be able to serve their communities without fearing for their safety"
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
He sniffed carefully and finally ventured to touch his tongue to it, fearing all the while that it might be poisoned food.
From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander
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