FEAR

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does fear mean? 

• FEAR (noun)
  The noun FEAR has 3 senses:

1. an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight)

2. an anxious feeling

3. a feeling of profound respect for someone or something

  Familiarity information: FEAR used as a noun is uncommon.

• FEAR (verb)
  The verb FEAR has 5 senses:

1. be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event

2. be afraid or scared of; be frightened of

3. be sorry; used to introduce an unpleasant statement

4. be uneasy or apprehensive about

5. regard with feelings of respect and reverence; consider hallowed or exalted or be in awe of

  Familiarity information: FEAR used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FEAR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Synonyms:

fear; fearfulness; fright

Hypernyms ("fear" is a kind of...):

emotion (any strong feeling)

Meronyms (parts of "fear"):

cold sweat (the physical condition of concurrent perspiration and chill; associated with fear)

Attribute:

afraid (filled with fear or apprehension)

fearless; unafraid (oblivious of dangers or perils or calmly resolute in facing them)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fear"):

alarm; consternation; dismay (fear resulting from the awareness of danger)

creeps (a feeling of fear and revulsion)

chill; frisson; quiver; shiver; shudder; thrill; tingle (an almost pleasurable sensation of fright)

horror (intense and profound fear)

hysteria (excessive or uncontrollable fear)

affright; panic; terror (an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety)

panic attack; scare (a sudden attack of fear)

stage fright (fear that affects a person about to face an audience)

apprehension; apprehensiveness; dread (fearful expectation or anticipation)

timidity; timidness; timorousness (fear of the unknown or unfamiliar or fear of making decisions)

intimidation (the feeling of being intimidated; being made to feel afraid or timid)

Antonym:

fearlessness (feeling no fear)

Derivation:

fear (be afraid or scared of; be frightened of)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An anxious feeling

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Synonyms:

care; concern; fear

Context example:

they hushed it up out of fear of public reaction

Hypernyms ("fear" is a kind of...):

anxiety (a vague unpleasant emotion that is experienced in anticipation of some (usually ill-defined) misfortune)

Derivation:

fear (be uneasy or apprehensive about)

fear (be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A feeling of profound respect for someone or something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Synonyms:

awe; fear; reverence; veneration

Context example:

his respect for the law bordered on veneration

Hypernyms ("fear" is a kind of...):

emotion (any strong feeling)

Derivation:

fear (regard with feelings of respect and reverence; consider hallowed or exalted or be in awe of)

• FEAR (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they fear    ... he / she / it fears   
Past simple: feared   
Past participle: feared   
-ing form: fearing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Context example:

I fear she might get aggressive

Hypernyms (to "fear" is one way to...):

worry (be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s PP
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sentence example:

They fear that there was a traffic accident

Derivation:

fear (an anxious feeling)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be afraid or scared of; be frightened of

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

dread; fear

Context example:

We should not fear the Communists!

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fear"):

panic (be overcome by a sudden fear)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

Sam cannot fear Sue

Derivation:

fear (an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight))

Sense 3

Meaning:

Be sorry; used to introduce an unpleasant statement

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Context example:

I fear I won't make it to your wedding party

Hypernyms (to "fear" is one way to...):

regret (express with regret)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sense 4

Meaning:

Be uneasy or apprehensive about

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Context example:

I fear the results of the final exams

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

fear (an anxious feeling)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Regard with feelings of respect and reverence; consider hallowed or exalted or be in awe of

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

fear; revere; reverence; venerate

Context example:

We venerate genius

Hypernyms (to "fear" is one way to...):

esteem; prise; prize; respect; value (regard highly; think much of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fear"):

enshrine; saint (hold sacred)

worship (show devotion to (a deity))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

fear (a feeling of profound respect for someone or something)

 Context examples 

It swelled up louder and louder, a hoarse yell of pain and fear and anger all mingled in the one dreadful shriek.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“If that is her trap, she must be making for the earlier train. I fear, Watson, that she will be past Charlington before we can possibly meet her.”

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He, too, growled, savagely, terribly, voicing the fear that is to life germane and that lies twisted about life's deepest roots.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

I was in fear that a struggle might take place, but a cry from the helmsman made it easy for the situation to save itself.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

I feared that you would find it beyond you.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The fire of him was no longer warm, and the fear of him was no longer poignant.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

I made a shift to keep the key in a pocket of my own, fearing Glumdalclitch might lose it.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

Regarding your reputation and work life, you may hear something that underscores how well your career is coming along, despite your fears that you had done everything wrong over the past two years.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

I feared that some difference between him and his mother might have led to his being in the frame of mind in which I had found him at the solitary fireside.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Buck wondered where they went, for they never came back; but the fear of the future was strong upon him, and he was glad each time when he was not selected.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)