What does “fear” mean?
- 1
nounthe bad feeling you have when you think something dangerous may happen
She has a fear of flying.
- 2
verbto be afraid of something or worried that something bad will happen
Many workers fear losing their jobs.
Fear at a glance
- Part of speech
- noun & verb
- CEFR level
- B1 (intermediate)
- Pronunciation
- /fɪr/ · FEER
How to use “fear” correctly
In everyday speech, “be afraid of” or “be scared of” is more common than the verb “fear”.
Common phrases with “fear”
- fear of
- in fear
- for fear of
- face your fears
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Synonyms (similar meaning)
- fright
- terror
- worry
Antonyms (opposite meaning)
- courage
Word family
- fearful
- fearless
- fearsome
“fear” is on these word lists
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