fear
[noun]
Synonyms:
- alarm, apprehensiveness, dread, fright, horror, panic, terror, trepidation
- bugbear, bête noire, bogey, horror, nightmare, spectre
[verb]
Synonyms:
- be afraid, dread, shake in one's shoes, shudder at, take fright, tremble at
- fear for: worry about, be anxious about, feel concern for

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Antonyms: fearlessness
Contrasted words: boldness, bravery, courage, courageousness, dauntlessness, fortitude, gallantry, intrepidity, prowess, valiancy, valor, contempt, scorn
Related Idioms: cold sweat
Related Words: apprehension, foreboding, misgiving, presentiment, angst, anxiety, concern, worry, agitation, discomposure, disquietude, perturbation, chickenheartedness, cowardice, cowardliness, faintheartedness, timidity, timorousness, funk, scare, esteem, respect

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English Thesaurus: fear, terror, fright, panic, alarm, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. fear¹ S3 W1 /fɪə $ fɪr/ noun
[Word Family: noun: fear, fearfulness ≠ fearlessness; adjective: fearful ≠ fearless, fearsome; verb: fear; adverb: fearfully ≠ fearlessly]
[Language: Old English; Origin: fær 'sudden danger']

1. [uncountable and countable] the feeling you get when you are afraid or worried that something bad is going to happen
fear of
a fear of flying
fear that
There are fears that share prices could decrease still further.
fear for
The girl’s parents expressed fears for her safety.
in fear
The children looked at her in fear.
without fear
People must be able to express their views without fear of criticism.

2. for fear (that), for fear of something because you are worried that you will make something happen:
She finally ran away for fear that he would kill her.
for fear of doing something
He got to the station early, for fear of missing her.

3. no fear! British English informal used humorously to say that you are definitely not going to do something:
‘Are you going to Bill’s party tonight?’ ‘No fear!’

4. [uncountable] the possibility or danger that something bad might happen:
There’s no fear of revolt now.

5. put the fear of God into somebody informal to make someone feel that they must do something, by making sure they know what will happen if they do not do it:
The Italian manager must have put the fear of God into his team.

6. without fear or favour British English formal in a fair way:
The law must be enforced without fear or favour.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. fear² W2 verb
[Word Family: noun: fear, fearfulness ≠ fearlessness; adjective: fearful ≠ fearless, fearsome; verb: fear; adverb: fearfully ≠ fearlessly]

1. [intransitive and transitive] to feel afraid or worried that something bad may happen:
Fearing violence, the group asked for police protection.
fear (that)
Police fear that there may be further terrorist attacks.
fear to do something formal:
Women feared to go out at night.
fear for somebody
His wife seemed depressed, and he feared for his children.
fear for sb’s safety/life
a terrifying ordeal in which she feared for her life
Hundreds of people are feared dead in the ferry disaster.

2. fear the worst to think that the worst possible thing has happened or might happen:
When Tom heard about the accident he immediately feared the worst.

3. [transitive] to be afraid of someone and what they might do:
As a leader, he was distrusted and even feared.

4. I fear formal used when telling someone that you think that something bad has happened or is true
I fear (that)
I fear that there is little more we can do.
I fear so/I fear not
‘Were they satisfied?’ ‘I fear not.’

5. fear not/never fear formal used to tell someone not to worry:
Never fear, he’ll be with us soon.
⇒ God-fearing

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

fear
noun
ADJ. deep, great, real, terrible It was the first time she had experienced real fear.
growing | irrational | unfounded, well-founded Our fears proved unfounded.
VERB + FEAR experience, feel, have She did not know why she should feel such fear.
be filled with, be gripped by, be paralysed by/with, be trembling with | express, show, voice The boy showed no fear. Doctors have voiced fears that we may be facing an epidemic.
cause, fuel, instil This incident has fuelled fears of a full-scale war. the fear that her mother had instilled in her
allay, dispel, overcome The government is keen to allay the public's fears. She managed to overcome her fear.
live in The people live in fear of attack by the bandits.
FEAR + VERB abate, subside When she heard the news, some of her fear subsided.
grip sb, haunt sb A sudden fear gripped him.
PREP. for ~ of Nobody refused for fear of losing their job.
in ~ He ran away in fear.
out of ~ He lied out of fear.
through ~ The pupils obeyed through fear of punishment.
without ~ She stared at him without fear.
with ~ His face was white with fear.
~ about his fear about what might happen
~ for my fear for her safety
~ of They have a terrible fear of failure.
PHRASES fear and trepidation The men set off in fear and trepidation.
strike fear into (the heart of) sb The sound of gunfire struck fear into the hearts of the villagers.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fear
verb
ADV. genuinely, greatly, really, seriously This disease is greatly feared. I really feared that this might be the end.
rightly Everyone rightly feared the coming war.
VERB + FEAR seem to | begin to | have little/nothing to You have nothing to fear from him.
have reason to I have reason to fear that you might abuse your power.
PREP. for We feared for their safety.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fear

sb’s worst/greatest fear
Her worst fear was never seeing her children again.
an irrational fear (=one that is not reasonable)
He grew up with an irrational fear of insects.
a deep-seated fear (=very strong and difficult to change)
He exploited people’s deep-seated fears about strangers.
groundless (=without any reason)
As it turned out, these fears were groundless.
conquer/overcome your fear (=stop being afraid)
She managed to conquer her fear of flying.
shake/tremble with fear
He was shaking with fear after being held at gunpoint.
show fear
She was determined not to show fear.
be gripped by fear (=be very afraid)
We were gripped by fear as the boat was tossed around by the waves.
be paralysed with fear (=be so afraid that you cannot move)
Bruce was paralysed with fear when he saw the snake.
confirm sb’s fears (=show that what you were afraid of has actually happened)
The look on Colin’s face confirmed all my worst fears.
ease/allay/dispel sb’s fears (=help someone stop being afraid)
Frank eased my fears about not being able to speak the local language.
be in fear of/for your life (=be afraid that you may be killed)
Celia was in fear of her life when she saw the truck coming toward her.
be full of fear
The residents are too full of fear to leave their houses.
be/live in fear of something (=be always afraid of something)
They were constantly in fear of an enemy attack.
have no fear of something
He had no fear of death.
sb’s hopes and fears
We each had different hopes and fears about the trip.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fear
I.
verb
1.
BAD: I don't go swimming because I fear of the water.
GOOD: I don't go swimming because I am afraid of the water.
GOOD: I don't go swimming because of my fear of the water.
BAD: He fears to lose his job.
GOOD: He is afraid of losing his job.
GOOD: His fear is that he may lose his job.
GOOD: He fears that he may lose his job.

Usage Note:
Fear is used mainly as a noun: 'My worst fear is that I won't be able to have children.' 'The whole of his life has been dominated by fear of failure.'
As a verb, fear is used mainly in formal styles to mean 'be frightened about what may happen if you do something': 'Government officials fear that if they put up taxes, they may lose the election.' 'The rescuers feared that the remains of the building might collapse on top of them.'

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2.
BAD: All these problems make me fear about the children's future.
GOOD: All these problems make me fear for the children's future.

Usage Note:
fear for = be worried about the safety or well-being of someone: 'The parents of the kidnapped child did not inform the police because they feared for her safety.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

fear
II.
noun
1.
BAD: Then I heard the voice again and I had fear.
GOOD: Then I heard the voice again and I was afraid.
BAD: I had fear of being alone.
GOOD: I was afraid of being alone.
BAD: She suddenly felt fear.
GOOD: She suddenly felt afraid.

Usage Note:
be/feel afraid/frightened/scared (NOT feel/have fear ): 'Don't be afraid. The dog won't hurt you.' 'There's nothing to be scared of.'
Compare: have a fear of sth (= be afraid of something for a long time or all your life): 'I've always had a fear of heights.'

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2.
BAD: It took me a long time to overcome my fear to fly.
GOOD: It took me a long time to overcome my fear of flying.

Usage Note:
fear of (doing) sth : 'I have never been able to get over my fear of heights.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

fear a feeling of being frightened:
He was trembling with fear.
Fear of failure should not stop you trying.
terror a feeling of great fear, because you think that something terrible is about to happen:
She let out a scream of pure terror.
fright a sudden feeling of fear, or a situation that makes you feel this:
My body was shaking with fright.
You gave me a fright!
He’s had a bit of fright, that’s all.
panic a sudden feeling of fear or nervousness that makes you unable to think clearly or behave sensibly:
She was in such a panic that she hardly knew what she was doing!
There were scenes of sheer panic immediately following the bomb blast.
alarm a feeling of fear or worry which shows in your voice or behaviour, because you think something bad might happen:
When I mentioned her name, he looked up at me in alarm.
The streets were calm and there was no sign of alarm.
foreboding /fɔːˈbəʊdɪŋ $ fɔːrˈboʊ-/ a feeling that something bad or unpleasant might happen although there is no obvious reason why it should:
She felt the same sense of foreboding she had before her father died.
phobia /ˈfəʊbiə $ ˈfoʊ-/ a permanent strong unreasonable fear of something:
I had a phobia about going to the dentist.
frighten to make someone feel afraid:
The thought of being in court frightened him.
scare especially spoken to frighten someone. Scare is less formal than frighten, and is the usual word to use in everyday English:
He was driving fast just to scare us.
It scared him to think that his mother might never recover.
terrify to make someone feel extremely frightened:
The idea of going down into the caves terrified her.
Robbers terrified bank staff by threatening them at gunpoint.
give somebody a fright to make someone suddenly feel frightened in a way that makes their heart beat more quickly:
It gave me a terrible fright when I found him unconscious on the floor.
give somebody the creeps if a person or place gives you the creeps, they make you feel slightly frightened because they are strange:
This house gives me the creeps.
startle to frighten someone. Used when you suddenly see someone and did not know they were there, or when you suddenly hear something:
I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.
The noise startled him, and he dropped his glass on the floor.
intimidate to deliberately frighten someone, especially so that they will do what you want:
Many of the gangs were using dogs to intimidate people.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

fear
fɪə
See: for fear

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

FEAR
False Emotions Appearing Real 
False Evidence Appearing Real 
Finding Excuses and Reasons 
Forget Everything And Run 
Forget Everything And Run (polite form) 
Future Events Appear Real 
Future Events Appearing Real

[TahlilGaran] Acronyms and Abbreviations Dictionary ▲