fear

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A strong, unpleasant feeling caused by danger or the thought of something bad.

   He was struck by fear when he saw the snake.

2. 2
   verb

   To be afraid of something or someone.

   Many people fear speaking in front of large crowds.

3. 3
   noun

   Something that you are afraid of.

   Spiders are her greatest fear.

4. 4
   noun

   Deep respect mixed with awe, especially toward God.

   The old hymns speak of the fear of God.

Common collocations

• feel fear Verb + noun
• constant fear Adjective + noun
• deep fear Adjective + noun
• growing fear Adjective + noun
• face a fear Verb + noun
• fear death Verb + noun
• hide fear Verb + noun
• overcome a fear Verb + noun

From Middle English feer, fere, fer (“fear”), 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, hazard, risk”), Danish fare (“danger, hazard, risk”), Faroese and Icelandic fár (“accident, anger, calamity”), Norwegian fare (“danger”), Swedish fara (“danger, risk, peril”), Latin perīculum (“danger, risk, trial”), Ancient Greek πεῖρα (peîra, “trial, experiment”), Arme…

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