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afraid

[ uh-freyd ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

feeling fear; filled with apprehension:
afraid to go.
Synonyms: , , , ,
Antonyms: , ,
feeling regret, unhappiness, or the like:
I'm afraid we can't go on Monday.
feeling reluctance, unwillingness, distaste, or the like:
He seemed afraid to show his own children a little kindness.

afraid

/ əˈ�ڰ��ɪ�� /

adjective

often foll by of feeling fear or apprehension; frightened
he was afraid of cats
reluctant (to do something), as through fear or timidity
he was afraid to let himself go
often foll bythat; used to lessen the effect of an unpleasant statement regretful
I'm afraid that I shall have to tell you to go

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Other Word Forms

�󲹱��-��·�ڰ�� adjective
�ܲ�a·�ڰ�� adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of afraid¹

Variant spelling of affrayed, past participle of affray to disturb, frighten

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Word History and Origins

Origin of afraid¹

C14: affraied, past participle of affray (to frighten)

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Synonym Study

Afraid, alarmed, frightened, terrified all indicate a state of fear. Afraid implies inner apprehensive disquiet: afraid of the dark. Alarmed implies that the feelings are aroused through realization of some imminent or unexpected danger to oneself or others: alarmed by (or about ) someone's illness. Frightened means shocked with sudden, but usually short-lived, fear, especially that arising from apprehension of physical harm: frightened by an accident. Terrified suggests the emotional reaction when one is struck with a violent, overwhelming fear: terrified by an earthquake.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Following the crackdown, some traders have resorted to selling their goods in secret, afraid to display them openly for fear of arrest.

From

Hamas may be busy fighting Israel, but it's not afraid to punish its critics.

From

Amid contract restructuring talks two months ago, Matthew Stafford knew he didn’t want to leave the Rams, but some of his teammates were afraid he would be traded.

From

Perhaps Rowling isn’t so afraid of change after all, but rather fearful of owning up to the inherent insignificance of being one person in a world that treats all humans equally.

From

“They can see this hair trigger mentality in the White House. Everybody is afraid.”

From

Related Words

AFRAeS afraid of one's own shadow

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