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afraid

 - 3 dictionary results

a⋅fraid

  [uh-freyd]
Use afraid in a Sentence
–adjective
1. feeling fear; filled with apprehension: afraid to go.
2. feeling regret, unhappiness, or the like: I'm afraid we can't go on Monday.
3. feeling reluctance, unwillingness, distaste, or the like: He seemed afraid to show his own children a little kindness.
Origin:
var. sp. of affrayed, ptp. of affray to disturb, frighten

Synonyms:
1. scared, fearful, disquieted, apprehensive, timid, timorous. 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, esp. 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.

Antonyms:
1. bold, confident, fearless.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To afraid
a·fraid   (ə-frād')   
adj.  

  1. Filled with fear: afraid of ghosts; afraid to die; afraid for his life.

  2. Having feelings of aversion or unwillingness in regard to something: not afraid of hard work; afraid to show emotion.

  3. Filled with regret or concern. Used especially to soften an unpleasant statement: I'm afraid you're wrong.


[Middle English affraied, past participle of affraien, to frighten, from Old French esfraier, esfreer, to disturb, of Germanic origin; see prī- in Indo-European roots.]
Synonyms: These adjectives mean full of or given to fear: afraid of snakes; feeling apprehensive before surgery; fearful of criticism.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

afraid 
1330, originally pp. of afray "frighten," from Anglo-Fr. afrayer, from O.Fr. esfreer (see affray (n.)). A rare case of an adjective that never stands before a noun. Because it was used in A.V. Bible, it acquired independent standing and thrived while affray faded, chasing out the once more common afeard (q.v.). Sense in I'm afraid "I regret to say, I suspect" (without implication of fear) is first recorded 1596.
"Her blue affrayed eyes wide open shone" [Keats, "The Eve of St. Agnes," 1820]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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