lest
English · Français · Deutsch · Română · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
lest
- /lɛst/
- /liːst/ obsolete
- /lɛst/ Early Modern
- /lɛːst/ Early Modern
Rhymes with -ɛst
Where it comes from
c. 1200, contracted from Middle English les te (“less that”), from Old English þȳ lǣs þe (“whereby less that”), from þȳ (instrumental case of demonstrative article þæt (“that”)) + lǣs (“less”) + þe (“that,” relative particle). The þȳ was dropped and the remaining two words contracted into leste.
conjunction
-
For fear that; that not; in order to prevent something from happening; in case.
He won't go outside, lest he be eaten by those ravenous eagles.
Similar: before
- that (without the negative particle; introduces the reason for an emotion.) There was danger/alarm lest the plan become known.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: avoid, before, bogles, else, least, unless, guarding against, in case, preventing, avoiding, warding off, otherwise, or else, against, barring, cannot
Translations
Every language
conj for fear that
| Español | no vaya a ser que |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | しないように shinai yō ni |
| 中文 | 以免 yǐmiǎn |
| Português | para que, a fim de que ... não |
| Français | de peur que, sans quoi |
| Deutsch | fürchtend, dass, in der Furcht, dass |
| Italiano | per paura che |
| Română | în caz că |
| Русский | из страха, что |
| العربية | خِيفَةَ أَنَّ ḵīfata ʔanna, مَخَافَةَ أَن maḵāfata ʔan |
| עברית | פֶּן pen |
conj that … not
| Deutsch | bevor, auf dass nicht |
|---|---|
| Русский | чтобы не, и́на́че ínáče |
conj that (without the negative particle)
| Română | care |
|---|
Talk about this word "lest." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/lest. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. lest. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/lest "lest." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/lest.Cite this
@misc{lest_2026,
title = {lest},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/lest},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
