fret

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /frɛt/ UK /frɛt/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like freight /ɛ/ vs /eɪ/

Meanings

1

verb
to worry or feel anxious in a persistent, nagging way

Don't fret about the exam; you've prepared thoroughly.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to worry or feel anxious in... worry fuss stew brood agonize chafe fume

Opposites

relax unwind rest calm

Word family

Derived forms fretfulfrettingfretter

Simplified etymology

Fret has several unrelated origins. The Old English verb originally meant “devour” or “consume” and shares a root with eat; its later sense “worry” developed from this word. The fret in fretwork comes from Old French freté, “trelliswork,” while the fret on a stringed instrument appeared in the early 16th century and is of unknown origin.

Etymology

From Old English fretan ('to devour, eat up'), from Proto-Germanic *fra- ('completely') + *etanÄ… ('to eat'); the sense 'worry' developed from 'to gnaw, eat away at'.

fretan Old English *etanÄ… Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# fret

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /frɛt/
**IPA (UK):** /frɛt/

## Meanings
1. to worry or feel anxious in a persistent, nagging way

## Examples
- Don't fret about the exam; you've prepared thoroughly.

## Synonyms
- worry
- fuss
- stew
- brood
- agonize
- chafe
- fume

## Antonyms
- relax
- unwind
- rest
- calm

## Derived Forms
- fretful
- fretting
- fretter

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: fretan
- Root: *etanÄ…

## Etymology
From Old English fretan ('to devour, eat up'), from Proto-Germanic *fra- ('completely') + *etanÄ… ('to eat'); the sense 'worry' developed from 'to gnaw, eat away at'.

## AI Etymology
Fret comes from Old English fretan ('to devour, eat up'), from Proto-Germanic *fra- ('completely') + *etanÄ… ('to eat'); the sense 'worry' developed from 'to gnaw, eat away at'. The historical trail runs through Old English fretan and Proto-Germanic *etanÄ…. Morphologically, the surface form is analyzable into prefixes, suffixes, compounds, or participial endings that carry part of the history. The later sense follows a semantic development already present in the word's history. In modern use it means to worry or feel anxious in a persistent, nagging way. Derived formations include fretful, fretting, fretter.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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