part of speech: noun
definition 1: a strong feeling one gets when one expects danger or pain.
- Her fear of fire is based on a bad experience.
synonyms: apprehension, dread, fright, terror
antonyms: fearlessness
definition 2: something that causes such an emotion.
- His greatest fear is of losing his parents.
synonyms: fright, terror
part of speech: verb
inflections: fears, fearing, feared
definition 1: to be frightened of.
- I fear high places.
synonyms: dread
definition 2: to be worried or in doubt about.
- Kyle feared that he was being lied to.
Word History
Fear comes from fere, an Old English word. Its earliest meaning, in the 700s, was “danger or peril.” It was not used for the feeling of fear until the 1300s.
Word Builder: fear +
fearful:
having or showing fear.
fearless:
having or showing no fear.