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Dread
Definitions
- 1 Terrible; greatly feared; dreaded.
"With cat-like tread / Upon our prey we steal / In silence dread / Our cautious way we feel"
- 2 Awe-inspiring; held in fearful awe. archaic
"The acts made in the first Parliament of our most high and dread soveraigne Charles [I], by the grace of God, King of Great Britaine, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, &c. […] [book title]"
- 1 causing fear or dread or terror wordnet
- 1 Great fear in view of impending evil; fearful apprehension of danger; anticipatory terror. countable, uncountable
"My visit to the doctor is filling me with dread."
- 2 fearful expectation or anticipation wordnet
- 3 Reverential or respectful fear; awe. countable, uncountable
"The fear of you, and the dread of you, shall be upon every beast of the earth."
- 4 Somebody or something dreaded. countable, uncountable
- 5 A person highly revered. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"Una, his dear dread"
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- 6 Fury; dreadfulness. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"The mightie ones, affrayd of every chaunges dread"
- 7 A Rastafarian. countable, uncountable
- 8 Clipping of dreadlock. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, countable, in-plural, slang, uncountable
"Jesus Christ had dreads / So shake 'em / I ain't got none / But I'm planning on growing some."
- 9 Clipping of dreadnought. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, countable, historical, slang, uncountable
"The Royal Navy sent six dreads and four BCs to intercept the German raiding force."
- 1 To fear greatly. transitive
- 2 be afraid or scared of; be frightened of wordnet
- 3 To anticipate with fear.
"I'm dreading getting the results of the test, as it could decide my whole life."
- 4 To be in dread, or great fear. intransitive
"Dread not, neither be afraid of them."
- 5 To style (the hair) into dreadlocks. transitive
Etymology
From Middle English dreden, from Old English drǣdan (“to fear, dread”), aphetic form of ondrǣdan (“to fear, dread”), from Proto-West Germanic *andarādan, equivalent to Old English and- + rǣdan (whence read); corresponding to an aphesis of earlier adread. Akin to Old Saxon antdrādan, andrādan (“to fear, dread”), Old High German intrātan (“to fear”), Middle High German entrāten (“to fear, dread, frighten”).
From Middle English drede, dred, from the verb (see above). Cognate with Old Frisian drēd, drēde (“fear, dread”).
From Middle English drede, dredde, dradde, ydreddyd (“feared, dreaded, honoured”), past participle of Middle English dreden (“to fear, dread”). See above.
See also for "dread"
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