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Fear
Definitions
- 1 Able; capable; stout; strong; sound. dialectal
"hale and fear"
- 1 A surname.
- 1 A strong, unpleasant emotion or feeling caused by actual or perceived danger or threat. uncountable
"He was struck by fear on seeing the snake."
- 2 an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight) wordnet
- 3 A phobia, a sense of fear induced by something or someone in particular. countable
"Not everybody has the same fears."
- 4 a feeling of profound respect for someone or something wordnet
- 5 Something one is afraid of; the object of one’s fear. countable
"Spiders are my greatest fear."
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- 6 an anxious feeling wordnet
- 7 Terrified veneration or reverence, particularly towards God, gods, or sovereigns. uncountable
"The feare of the Lord is the beginning of wisedome."
- 8 A feeling of dread and anxiety when waking after drinking a lot of alcohol, wondering what one did while drunk. UK, countable, uncountable, with-definite-article
"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, […]"
- 1 To be afraid of (something or someone); to consider or expect (something or someone) with alarm. transitive
"I fear the worst will happen."
- 2 regard with feelings of respect and reverence; consider hallowed or exalted or be in awe of wordnet
- 3 To feel fear. intransitive
"Never fear; help is always near."
- 4 be afraid or scared of; be frightened of wordnet
- 5 To worry about, to feel concern for, to be afraid for [with for]. intransitive
"She fears for her son’s safety."
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- 6 be uneasy or apprehensive about wordnet
- 7 To venerate; to feel awe towards. transitive
"People who fear God can be found in Christian churches."
- 8 be sorry; used to introduce an unpleasant statement wordnet
- 9 To regret. transitive
"I fear I have bad news for you: your husband has died."
- 10 be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event wordnet
- 11 To cause fear to; to frighten. obsolete, transitive
"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 feare me ne lasse my courage"
- 12 To be anxious or solicitous for. obsolete, transitive
"Fearst thou thy person? thou shalt haue a guard:"
- 13 To suspect; to doubt. obsolete, transitive
"Fear you not her courage?"
Etymology
From Middle English feer, fere, fer, 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, risk, hazard”), Swedish fara (“danger, risk, peril”), Latin perīculum (“danger, risk, trial”). 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 feer, fere, fer, 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, risk, hazard”), Swedish fara (“danger, risk, peril”), Latin perīculum (“danger, risk, trial”). 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”).
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