Another word for fear
a-z
Noun
Great agitation and anxiety caused by the expectation or the realization of danger
- Fearfulness or timidity preventing the completion of a course of action.
- A state of alarm or dread; apprehension.
- An involuntary trembling or quivering.
- Intense, overpowering fear.
- One that instills intense fear:
- The ability to instill intense fear:
- A sudden, overpowering feeling of fear, often affecting many people at once.
- A state of extreme anxiety, such as that involved in a panic attack.
- A state of frantic activity, usually accompanied by extreme concern or anxiety:
- An intense, painful feeling of repugnance and fear.
- A state or condition marked by this feeling:
- An intense dislike or abhorrence:
- A strong, usually unpleasant smell; reek.
- Sudden intense fear, as of something immediately threatening.
- Something extremely unsightly, alarming, or strange:
- To frighten.
- The quality of being fearful
- To be in terror of; fear intensely:
- To anticipate with alarm, distaste, or reluctance:
- To hold in awe or reverence.
- Fearful or uneasy anticipation of the future; dread.
- The act of seizing or capturing; arrest.
- The ability to apprehend or understand; understanding.
- Sudden fear or concern caused by the realization of danger or an impending setback.
- A warning of existing or approaching danger:
- A device that is used to warn of danger by means of a sound or signal:
- To arouse fear in; terrify:
- Great fear; terror.
- A cause of terror.
Idioms:See also:
Verb
To be afraid of
- To be in terror of; fear intensely:
- To anticipate with alarm, distaste, or reluctance:
- To hold in awe or reverence.
Idioms:See also:
© Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Another word for fear
Noun
Alarm occasioned by immediate danger
- A reaction to nervousness, fear, pain, or shock, characterized by simultaneous perspiration and chill and cold moist skin.
- Fearfulness or timidity preventing the completion of a course of action.
- A strong, usually unpleasant smell; reek.
- A shaking or vibrating movement, as of the earth.
- An involuntary trembling or quivering, as of the hands.
- A state or feeling of nervousness, worry, or excitement:
- A fixed, intense dislike; repugnance:
- The cause or object of such a feeling:
- The avoidance of a thing, situation, or behavior because it has been associated with an unpleasant or painful stimulus.
- A sudden strong change or reaction in feeling, especially a feeling of violent disgust or loathing.
- A withdrawing or turning away from something.
- The reduction of superficial inflammation in an affected body part, as by topical agents, in order to decrease inflammation in adjacent structures.
- One that is disgusting, loathsome, or repellent.
- A feeling of repugnance or loathing.
- To strike with sudden fear; alarm.
- To become frightened:
- A condition or sensation of sudden fear:
- A feeling of respect or reverence mixed with dread and wonder, often inspired by something majestic or powerful:
- The power to inspire dread.
- Dread.
- To cause to lose enthusiasm or resolution; disillusion or discourage:
- To upset or distress:
- A sudden or complete loss of courage in the face of trouble or danger.
- A state of great alarm, agitation, or dismay.
- Sudden fear or concern caused by the realization of danger or an impending setback.
- A warning of existing or approaching danger:
- A device that is used to warn of danger by means of a sound or signal:
- A sudden, overpowering feeling of fear, often affecting many people at once.
- A state of extreme anxiety, such as that involved in a panic attack.
- A state of frantic activity, usually accompanied by extreme concern or anxiety:
- An intense, painful feeling of repugnance and fear.
- A state or condition marked by this feeling:
- An intense dislike or abhorrence:
- Intense, overpowering fear.
- One that instills intense fear:
- The ability to instill intense fear:
- Sudden intense fear, as of something immediately threatening.
- Something extremely unsightly, alarming, or strange:
- To frighten.
- To be in terror of; fear intensely:
- To anticipate with alarm, distaste, or reluctance:
- To hold in awe or reverence.
Antonyms:General apprehension
- The property of being timorous.
- A sense that something is about to occur; a premonition.
- An uneasy feeling about the propriety or rightness of a course of action:
- A sudden disturbing feeling:
- A sudden feeling of sickness, faintness, or nausea.
- To be undecided or skeptical about:
- To tend to disbelieve; distrust:
- To regard as unlikely:
- The act or an instance of suspecting something on little or no evidence:
- The condition of being suspected, especially of wrongdoing:
- The state or feeling of having no confidence or certainty about something; distrust:
- To have to do with or relate to:
- To be of interest or importance to:
- To engage the attention of; involve:
- To feel uneasy or concerned about something; be troubled.
- To seize something with the teeth and bite or tear repeatedly:
- To touch or handle something nervously or persistently:
- the state of being jumpy
- The state or quality of being nervous.
- The act or an instance of hesitating.
- The state of being hesitant.
- A pause or faltering in speech.
- The act of agitating or the state of being agitated.
- Extreme emotional disturbance; perturbation.
- The stirring up of public interest in a matter of controversy, such as a political or social issue.
- To lose all hope:
- To be overcome by a sense of futility or defeat.
- Complete loss of hope.
- A sense of impending evil or misfortune.
- An evil omen; a portent.
- Ominous.
- The quality of being fearful
- Lack of resolution; lack of decision or purpose; vacillation.
- A cause of fear, anxiety, or irritation:
- A difficult or persistent problem:
- A fearsome imaginary creature, especially one evoked to frighten children.
- A persistent, abnormal, and irrational fear of a specific thing or situation that compels one to avoid it, despite the awareness and reassurance that it is not dangerous.
- A strong fear, dislike, or aversion.
- The act of perturbing.
- The state of being perturbed; agitation.
- A small change in a physical system, such as a variation in a planet's orbit resulting from the gravitational influence of other celestial bodies.
- Worried unease; anxiety:
- Doubt, distrust, or apprehension:
- A feeling of misgiving:
- Ignoble fear in the face of danger or pain.
- To be in terror of; fear intensely:
- To anticipate with alarm, distaste, or reluctance:
- To hold in awe or reverence.
- A state of alarm or dread; apprehension.
- An involuntary trembling or quivering.
- A state of uneasiness and apprehension, as about future uncertainties.
- A cause of anxiety:
- A state of apprehension, uncertainty, and fear resulting from the anticipation of a realistic or fantasized threatening event or situation, often impairing physical and psychological functioning.
Verb
To anticipate immediate danger
- To behave like a wimp.
- (idiomatic) To shy away from a daring task; to decline, refuse, or avoid something due to fear or uncertainty.
- Easily startled; timid:
- Tending to avoid contact or familiarity with others; retiring or reserved:
- Characterized by reserve or diffidence:
- To shake involuntarily, as from excitement or anger; quake.
- To feel fear or anxiety:
- To vibrate or quiver:
- To begin a movement, activity, or undertaking:
- To move on the initial part of a journey:
- To have a beginning; commence:
- To take the color from; bleach.
- To whiten (a growing plant or plant part) by covering to cut off direct light.
- To whiten (a metal) by soaking in acid or by coating with tin.
- To pass from the liquid to the solid state by loss of heat.
- To acquire a surface or coat of ice from cold:
- To become clogged or jammed because of the formation of ice:
- To shiver convulsively, as from fear or revulsion.
- To vibrate; quiver:
- A convulsive shiver, as from fear or revulsion.
- To shrink back, as in fear; cower.
- To behave in a servile way; fawn.
- An act or instance of cringing.
- To shake or tremble, as from instability or shock.
- To shiver or shudder, as with cold or from strong emotion.
- An instance of quaking.
- Any of various primarily ground-dwelling birds of the genus Coturnix, especially C. coturnix, small in size and having mottled brown plumage and a short tail.
- Any of various similar or related birds of the Americas, such as the bobwhite or the California quail.
- To become or appear to become smaller:
- To become smaller from exposure to heat, moisture, or cold:
- To become reduced in amount or value; dwindle:
- To start or wince involuntarily, as from surprise or pain.
- To recoil, as from something unpleasant or difficult; shrink.
- An act or instance of starting, wincing, or recoiling.
- To quiver, as from weakness; tremble.
- To speak in a quivering voice; utter a quivering sound.
- To produce a trill on an instrument or with the voice.
- To cringe in fear.
- To be unsteady in purpose or action, as from loss of courage or confidence; waver:
- To speak hesitatingly; stammer:
- To move unsteadily or haltingly; stumble:
To be apprehensive
- To be vexed or troubled; worry.
- To be worn or eaten away; become corroded.
- To move agitatedly.
- To be in terror of; fear intensely:
- To anticipate with alarm, distaste, or reluctance:
- To hold in awe or reverence.
- To take into custody; arrest:
- To grasp mentally; understand:
- To become conscious of, as through the emotions or senses; perceive:
See also:
Idioms:
for fear of
Synonym Study
- Panic refers to a frantic, unreasoning fear, often one that spreads quickly and leads to irrational, aimless action the cry of ``fire!"" created a panic
- Terror applies to an overwhelming, often paralyzing fear the terror of soldiers in combat
- Alarm implies the fright felt at the sudden realization of danger he felt alarm at the sight of the pistol
- Fright applies to a sudden, shocking, usually momentary fear the mouse gave her a fright
- Dread refers to the fear or depression felt in anticipating something dangerous or disagreeable to live in dread of poverty
- Fear is the general term for the anxiety and agitation felt at the presence of danger
© WEBSTER’S NEW WORLD® ROGET’S A-Z THESAURUS by Charlton Laird and the editors of Webster’s New World dictionaries. Copyright © 1999 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.