Word.ws English Dictionary

fear

UK/fɪə/

More pronunciations (2)Fewer pronunciations

British/fɪː/

fear noun: a strong, unpleasant emotion or feeling caused by actual or perceived danger or threat.

Noun

fear (countable and uncountable, plural fears)

  1. (uncountable) A strong, unpleasant emotion or feeling caused by actual or perceived danger or threat.
    • He was struck by fear on seeing the snake.
    • I corralled the judge, and we started off across the fields, in no very mild state of fear of that gentleman's wife, whose vigilance was seldom relaxed.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC
  2. (countable) A phobia, a sense of fear induced by something or someone in particular.
    • Not everybody has the same fears.
    • I have a fear of ants.
  3. (countable) Something one is afraid of; the object of one’s fear.
    • Spiders are my greatest fear.
  4. (uncountable) Terrified veneration or reverence, particularly towards God, gods, or sovereigns.
    • The feare of the Lord is the beginning of wisedome.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalm CXI:10
    • That sacred dread of all offence to him, which is called the Fear of God.1846, [John Ruskin], Modern Painters […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC, part III (Of Ideas of Beauty), section I (Of the Theoretic Faculty), page 121
    Synonyms:
    dread
  5. (UK, with-definite-article, "the fear") A feeling of dread and anxiety when waking after drinking a lot of alcohol, wondering what one did while drunk.
    • Her feeling of humiliation had intensified as the day had gone on and her hangover had worsened. She now also had 'the fear' to contend with, […]2019, Ruth Kelly, The Little Vineyard in Provence
    • He had the fear, that feeling of dread that you've done something really embarrassing. The fear was a hundred times worse than the hangover. No, a thousand times worse.2020, Mark Ratcliffe, The Step Down: A Very Scottish Crime
    Synonyms:
    hangxiety

Verb

fear (third-person singular simple present fears, present participle fearing, simple past and past participle feared)

  1. (transitive) To be afraid of (something or someone); to consider or expect (something or someone) with alarm.
    • I fear the worst will happen.
    • I greatly fear my money is not safe.c. 1594 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Comedie of Errors”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
  2. (intransitive) To feel fear.
    • Never fear; help is always near.
    • Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 12:32
    Synonyms:
    be afraid of, be frightened of, be scared of, be terrorise, terrorize
  3. (intransitive) To worry about, to feel concern for, to be afraid for [with for].
    • She fears for her son’s safety.
  4. (transitive) To venerate; to feel awe towards.
    • People who fear God can be found in Christian churches.
    Synonyms:
    be in awe of, revere, venerate
  5. (transitive) To regret.
    • I fear I have bad news for you: your husband has died.
  6. (obsolete, transitive) To cause fear to; to frighten.
    • Thenne the knyghte sayd to syre Gawayn / bynde thy wounde or thy blee chaunge / for thou bybledest al thy hors and thy fayre armes /[…]/ For who someuer is hurte with this blade he shalle neuer be staunched of bledynge / Thenne ansuerd gawayn hit greueth me but lytyl / thy grete wordes shalle not...1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter X, in Le Morte Darthur, book V
    • Ythrild with deepe disdaine of his proud threat,
      She shortly thus; Fly they, that need to fly;
      Wordes fearen babes.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto IV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 448
  7. (obsolete, transitive) To be anxious or solicitous for.
    • Fearst thou thy person? thou shalt haue a guard:1594, Christopher Marlow[e], The Troublesome Raigne and Lamentable Death of Edward the Second, King of England: […], London: […] [Eliot’s Court Press] for Henry Bell, […], published 1622, →OCLC...
    • The sins of the father are to be laid upon the children: therefore, I promise ye, I fear you.c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
  8. (obsolete, transitive) To suspect; to doubt.
    • Fear you not her courage?1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...

Adjective

fear (comparative more fear, superlative most fear)

  1. (dialectal) Able; capable; stout; strong; sound.
    • hale and fear

Proper noun capitalized: Fear

Fear (plural Fears)

  1. A surname.

fear meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

fear in Hindi

uncountable: emotion caused by actual or perceived danger or threat
डर ḍar, भय bhay, ख़ौफ़ xauf, खौफ khauph, सहम saham
a phobia; sense of fear induced by something or someone
घबराहट ghabrāhaṭ
extreme veneration or awe
परवाह parvāh
feel fear about (something)
डरना ḍarnā

fear in Tamil

uncountable: emotion caused by actual or perceived danger or threat
பயம் payam, அச்சம் accam

fear in Marathi

uncountable: emotion caused by actual or perceived danger or threat
भीती bhītī

fear in Urdu

uncountable: emotion caused by actual or perceived danger or threat
ڈَر ḍar, خَوف xauf, بَھی bhaī, سَہْم sahm, سَہَم saham
feel fear about (something)
ڈرنا ḍarnā
More languagesFewer languages
fear in Bengali
ভয় bhoẏ, ডর ḍor, ত্রাস traś, ভয় করা bhoẏ kora
fear in Telugu
భయము bhayamu
fear in Malayalam
ഭയം bhayaṁ, പേടി pēṭi, ഭയക്കുക bhayakkuka, പേടിക്കുക pēṭikkuka
fear in Kannada
ಭಯ bhaya, ಹೆದರಿಕೆ hedarike
fear in Punjabi
ਡਰ ḍar, ڈَر ḍar
fear in Gujarati
ડરવું ḍarvũ, બીવું bīvũ, ગભરાવું gabhrāvũ, ત્રાસવું trāsvũ
fear in Odia
ଡର ḍara
fear in Sanskrit
भय bhaya, बिभेति bibheti, त्रसति trasati
fear in Sinhala
බය baya
fear in Assamese
ভয় bhoy
fear in Nepali
डर ḍar, भय bhaya, त्रास trās, डराउनु ḍarāunu
fear in Pashto
ډار ḍār, خوف xawf, ترس tars, بيم bīm
fear in Tagalog
takot, pagtakot
fear in Arabic
خَوْف ḵawf, وَهَل wahal, خوف ḵōf, خْلعة ḵləʕa
fear in Malay
ketakutan, takut
fear in Indonesian
takut
fear in Persian
تَرْس tars, بِیم bīm, هَرَاس harās, خَوف xawf
fear in Thai
ความกลัว kwaam-gluua, กลัว gluua, หวั่น wàn, เกรง greeng
fear in Vietnamese
sự khiếp đảm, sự sợ hãi, sợ, hãi
fear in Myanmar
ဘယာ bha.ya, ကြောက် krauk
Dhivehi
ބިރުވެރިކަމަކީ biruverikamakī

Examples of fear in a sentence

  • Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes.1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
  • And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 10:28:
  • At twilight in the summer there is never anybody to fear—man, woman, or cat—in the chambers and at that hour the mice come out.1892, Walter Besant, chapter II, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC:
  • Parents fear sending their children to school.2013 July 19, Mark Tran, “Denied an education by war”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 1:

All 40 example sentences with fear

Synonyms of fear

1 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of fear

Forms of fear

Noun
pluralfears
Verb
third-person singular presentfears
present participlefearing
past participlefeared
pastfeared
Adjective
comparativemore fear
superlativemost fear
alternative formfeer
Proper noun
pluralFears

Past tense of fear: feared

Plural of fear: fears

Origin of fear

From Middle English feer, fere, fer (“fear”), from Old English fǣr, ġefǣr (“calamity, sudden danger, peril, sudden attack, terrible sight”), from Proto-Germanic *fērō, *fērą (“danger”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to go through, carry forth, try”). Cognate with Dutch gevaar (“danger, risk, peril”), German Gefahr (“danger, hazard, risk”), Danish fare (“danger, hazard, risk”), Faroese and Icelandic fár (“accident, anger, calamity”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk fare (“danger”), Swedish fara (“danger, risk, peril”), Latin perīculum (“danger, risk, trial”), Ancient Greek πεῖρα (peîra, “trial, experiment”), Armenian փորձ (pʻorj, “attempt”). Doublet of peril. The verb is from Middle English feren, from Old English fǣran (“to frighten, raven”), from the noun. Cognate with the archaic Dutch verb varen (“to fear, to cause fear”).

From Middle English fere, feore, from Old English fēre (“able to go, fit for service”), from Proto-Germanic *fēriz (“passable”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to put across, ferry”). Cognate with Scots fere, feir (“well, active, sound”), Middle High German gevüere (“able, capable, fit, serviceable”), Swedish för (“capable, able, stout”), Icelandic fær (“able”). Related to fare.

* As an English surname, from an obsolete noun meaning "traveler," represented in the second half of Old English gefera (“comrade, companion”). * Also as an English surname, from the root of the adjective fierce, and occasionally from the noun fear. * Also as an English surname, from the noun ferry. * Occasionally as an English surname of Norman origin, from La Fère in Aisne, possibly from Latin feretrum (“bier”).

Words formed from fear

Phrases with fear

5 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with fear

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about fear

What does fear mean?
Fear means a strong, unpleasant emotion or feeling caused by actual or perceived danger or threat.
What is fear in Hindi?
Fear in Hindi is डर (ḍar), भय (bhay), ख़ौफ़ (xauf). See Fear meaning in Hindi.
How do you use fear in a sentence?
Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes.
What part of speech is fear?
Fear can be a noun, a verb, an adjective or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce fear?
Fear is pronounced /fɪə/ (UK).
What is the plural of fear?
The plural of fear is fears.

Words near fear in the dictionary

  1. fealed
  2. fealing
  3. feals
  4. fealties
  5. fealty
  6. fear
  7. fear campaign
  8. fear campaigns
  9. fear gortach
  10. fear gortha
  11. fear monger

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: fear (page history and authors); Fear (page history and authors); ગભરાવું (Gujarati) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “fear.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/fear. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.