fear
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fear¹
- /fɪə/ Australia, UK
- [fɪə̯] Australia, UK
- /fɪː/ British, Southern, Standard
- /fɪjə/ British, Southern, Standard
- /fɛː/
- [fɛː]
- /fiə/ New Zealand
- [fiə̯] New Zealand
- /fɪɚ/ Canadian, US, Standard
- [fɪɚ] ~ [fɪɹ̩] Canadian, US, Standard
- /fiɾ/ Scotland
- [fiːɾ] Scotland
Sounds like fair, fare (both cheer–chair merger) · Rhymes with -ɪə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
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”).
noun fears
- A strong, unpleasant emotion or feeling caused by actual or perceived danger or threat. He was struck by fear on seeing the snake.
- A phobia, a sense of fear induced by something or someone in particular. Not everybody has the same fears.
- Something one is afraid of; the object of one’s fear. Spiders are my greatest fear.
-
Terrified veneration or reverence, particularly towards God, gods, or sovereigns.
The feare of the Lord is the beginning of wisedome.
Similar: dread
-
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, […]
Similar: hangxiety
Similar: fear, afraidness · Opposite: courage
verb fears · fearing · feared
- To be afraid of (something or someone); to consider or expect (something or someone) with alarm. I fear the worst will happen.
-
To feel fear.
Never fear; help is always near.
Similar: be afraid of, be frightened of, be scared of, be terrorise, terrorize
- To worry about, to feel concern for, to be afraid for [with for]. She fears for her son’s safety.
-
To venerate; to feel awe towards.
People who fear God can be found in Christian churches.
Similar: be in awe of, revere, venerate
- To regret. I fear I have bad news for you: your husband has died.
- 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 fe
- To be anxious or solicitous for. Fearst thou thy person? thou shalt haue a guard:
- To suspect; to doubt. Fear you not her courage?
fear²
- /fɪə/ Australia, UK
- [fɪə̯] Australia, UK
- /fɪː/ British, Southern, Standard
- /fɪjə/ British, Southern, Standard
- /fɛː/
- [fɛː]
- /fiə/ New Zealand
- [fiə̯] New Zealand
- /fɪɚ/ Canadian, US, Standard
- [fɪɚ] ~ [fɪɹ̩] Canadian, US, Standard
- /fiɾ/ Scotland
- [fiːɾ] Scotland
Sounds like fair, fare (both cheer–chair merger) · Rhymes with -ɪə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
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.
adjective more fear · most fear · feer
- Able; capable; stout; strong; sound. hale and fear
Fear³
Where it comes from
* 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”).
proper noun Fears
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: fearfulness, dread, fright, care, concern, venerate, reverence, revere, terror, worried, horror, scare, frighten, frightened, scared, trepidation
noun
Similar: fear, afraidness · Opposite: courage
Translations
Every language
noun uncountable: emotion caused by actual or perceived danger or threat
| Español | miedo, temor, pavor, pavura |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 공포 gongpo, 겁 geop |
| 日本語 | 恐れ osore, 恐怖 kyōfu |
| 中文 | 恐怖 kǒngbù |
| हिन्दी | डर ḍar, भय bhay, ख़ौफ़ xauf, खौफ khauph, सहम saham |
| Kiswahili | woga, hofu |
| Português | medo, temor, receio |
| Français | peur, crainte |
| Deutsch | Angst, Furcht |
| Italiano | paura, timore |
| Ελληνικά | φόβος fóvos |
| Română | frică, teamă |
| Русский | страх strax, боя́знь bojáznʹ, опасе́ние opasénije |
| Tiếng Việt | sự khiếp đảm, sự sợ hãi |
| العربية | خَوْف ḵawf, وَهَل wahal |
| עברית | פַּחַד pákhad |
noun a phobia; sense of fear induced by something or someone
| Español | miedo, pavor |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 공포증 gongpojeung |
| 日本語 | 恐怖症 kyōfushō |
| 中文 | 恐怖 kǒngbù |
| हिन्दी | घबराहट ghabrāhaṭ |
| Kiswahili | kicho |
| Português | fobia, medo, pavor |
| Français | crainte, peur |
| Deutsch | Angst, Furcht, Phobie |
| Italiano | paura |
| Ελληνικά | φοβία fovía |
| Română | fobie |
| Русский | страх strax, боя́знь bojáznʹ, фо́бия fóbija |
noun extreme veneration or awe
| Español | temor, respeto |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 恐れ osore, 畏れ osore |
| हिन्दी | परवाह parvāh |
| Português | temor |
| Français | crainte |
| Deutsch | Ehrfurcht |
| Ελληνικά | δέος déos |
| Română | frică, spaimă |
| Русский | страх strax |
| עברית | יִרְאָה yir'á |
verb feel fear about (something)
| Español | temer, tener miedo de |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 두려워하다 duryeowohada, 무서워하다 museowohada, 겁내다 geomnaeda |
| 日本語 | 恐れる osoreru, 怖る osoru, 怖がる kowagaru |
| 中文 | 害怕 hàipà, 怕 pà |
| हिन्दी | डरना ḍarnā |
| Kiswahili | -ogopa, -hofu |
| Português | temer, ter medo de, recear |
| Français | craindre, avoir peur (de) |
| Deutsch | fürchten, Angst haben vor |
| Italiano | temere, aver paura di |
| Ελληνικά | φοβάμαι fovámai |
| Română | teme |
| Русский | боя́ться bojátʹsja, страши́ться strašítʹsja, опаса́ться opasátʹsja, пуга́ться pugátʹsja |
| Tiếng Việt | sợ, hãi, sợ hãi |
| العربية | خَافَ ḵāfa, خَشِيَ ḵašiya, هَابَ hāba, رَهِبَ rahiba |
| עברית | פָּחַד pakhád, יָרֵא yaré |
verb (used with for) to worry about, to feel concern for, to be afraid for
| Deutsch | Angst haben um, fürchten um/für |
|---|---|
| العربية | خَافَ عَلَى ḵāfa ʕalā, خَشِيَ عَلَى ḵašiya ʕalā |
verb venerate; to feel awe towards
| 日本語 | 畏れる osoreru |
|---|---|
| Kiswahili | kucha |
| Português | temer |
| Français | craindre |
| Deutsch | fürchten |
| العربية | خَافَ ḵāfa, خَشِيَ ḵašiya, رَهِبَ rahiba, اِتَّقَى ittaqā |
verb to regret
| Español | lamentar |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | but see leider |
Talk about this word "fear." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/fear. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. fear. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/fear "fear." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/fear.Cite this
@misc{fear_2026,
title = {fear},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/fear},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
