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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.

“People are angry and afraid,” the organization wrote in an emailed statement.

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“We are all afraid,” Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said this month, expressing concerns in Congress that the administration will retaliate against the noncompliant.

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Following that, others get the message and are afraid to reveal information the administration wants to hide.

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“Now I’m afraid we’re going to face censorship in a different way.”

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As a primary care doctor, I am the one to treat folks who show up with preventable cancers because they were too afraid to think about what their out-of-pocket costs would be.

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Related Words

AFRAeS afraid of one's own shadow

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