What does "feeze" mean?
A state of worry or alarm.
Feeze
/fiːz/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A state of worry or alarm.
- Grammar: feeze is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: hit, untangle.
- Useful contrasts: organize.
- Usage evidence: All this time, they were chattering; but at last I thought, by the sound of their voices, that they must be walking away, and I never was in such a feeze in all my life, in case they should be gone before I could get up the wall ; and when I did get up it, sure enough, gone they was!
How to use "feeze"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "feeze" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "feeze" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "feeze" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "feeze" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "feeze" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "hit" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "feeze", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A state of worry or alarm. US, dialectal
"All this time, they were chattering; but at last I thought, by the sound of their voices, that they must be walking away, and I never was in such a feeze in all my life, in case they should be gone before I could get up the wall ; and when I did get up it, sure enough, gone they was!"
- 2 A rush, impetus, or a violent impact; also, a rub. US, dialectal
"[…]though you haue fetched your feaze, yet to looke well ere you leape."
- 3 A device for wedging items into a tight space. Scotland, obsolete
"setting up the most expedient agricolary instruments of wains, carts, slades, with their several devices of wheels and axle-trees, plows and harrows of divers sorts, feezes, winders, pullies, and all other manner of engines fit for easing the toyl and furthering the work;"
Verb
- 1 To drive off or away; to make (someone) run, put to flight; to frighten away; compare faze. dialectal, obsolete, often, transitive
"Gracious! what a hurly-burly 'twas! How the volks veased [gloss: Hurried, drove] out o' church—higgeldy piggeldy, helter skelter: zich jitting, [gloss: Pushing against each other], driving, and dringing. [gloss: Squeezing]"
- 2 To twist or turn with a screw-like motion; to screw. Scotland, also, dialectal, transitive
"What pushing and crushing Amang the lads and lasses; What squeezing and feezing Wi' ilka ane that passes"
- 3 Pronunciation spelling of freeze. Scotland, alt-of, dialectal, pronunciation-spelling
"“How does the snow come;" he asks. “Mama says God makes it snow. Does he keep it up there, and all the rain, too. I s'd t'ink he'd feeze. Mama al'as says, come in Willie, you'll feeze in 'e snow.""
- 4 To beat; to chastise. dialectal, transitive
"Come, will you quarrel? I will feeze you, sirrah."
- 5 To insinuate. Scotland, broadly, dialectal, figuratively
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 To cause to swing about. dialectal, intransitive, transitive
"When stormy winter shook the trees, An' drumly dubs began to freeze, An' Christmas times brought bread an' cheese, An' routh o' whisky, Auld Carlo then his tail would feeze Sae keen an' frisky."
- 7 To untwist; to unravel, as the end of a thread or rope. Scotland, dialectal, intransitive, transitive
"In short, Tibbie made maist praiseworthy efforts to feeze her fingers oot o' my loof as lang as I held them fast."
- 8 To cause to swing about.; To swing about in the wind; to flare (as a candle) dialectal, intransitive, transitive
- 9 To rub hard; to do a piece of work with passion. Scotland, dialectal, figuratively, obsolete, transitive
- 10 To frighten, put into a state of alarm. dialectal, intransitive
"Not that mothers should neglect children for husband, but that they might be quite as well off with less of your feezing and fussing, and he much the better with more of your affections."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"All this time, they were chattering; but at last I thought, by the sound of their voices, that they must be walking away, and I never was in such a feeze in all my life, in case they should be gone before I could get up the wall ; and when I did get up it, sure enough, gone they was!"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "feeze"?
Common synonyms include: hit, untangle.
How do you use "feeze" in a sentence?
All this time, they were chattering; but at last I thought, by the sound of their voices, that they must be walking away, and I never was in such a feeze in all my life, in case they should be gone before I could get up the wall ; and when I did get up it, sure enough, gone they was!
How do you pronounce "feeze"?
Pronounced /fiːz/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English fese, from the verb (see below).
Etymology 2
From Middle English fesen, from Old English fēsian, fȳsian (“to drive away, put to flight”), variants of fēsan, fȳsan (“to hasten, rush; to incite, stimulate, send forth, drive away”), of disputed origin. Doublet of faze.
Etymology 3
From Scots feeze, from Old Scots fize (“screw”, noun), from Dutch vijs (“screw”), from Middle Dutch vise (“screw, windlass, winch”), from Old French vis, viz (“vise, vice”), from Latin vītis (“vine”). Doublet of vice, vise, and withe.