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Definition of fear noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

fear

noun
 
 
/fɪə(r)/
 
/fɪr/
Idioms
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  1.  
     [uncountable, countable] the bad feeling that you have when you are in danger or when a particular thing frightens you
    • Her eyes showed no fear.
    • The child was shaking with fear.
    • I suddenly felt gripped by fear.
    • We were living in a perpetual state of fear and anxiety.
    • The attacks created a climate of fear.
    • Terror attacks are a tool to instil fear in the public.
    • He managed to overcome his fears.
    • fear of somebody/something Fear of crime can affect people's lives.
    • in fear of somebody/something We lived in constant fear of losing our jobs.
    • without fear of somebody/something Women should be able to work without fear of harassment.
    Synonyms fearfearterror ▪ panic ▪ alarm ▪ frightThese are all words for the bad feeling you have when you are afraid.fear the bad feeling that you have when you are in danger or when a particular thing frightens you:
    • (a) fear of flying
    • She showed no fear.
    terror a feeling of extreme fear:
    • Her eyes were wild with terror.
    panic a sudden feeling of great fear that cannot be controlled and prevents you from thinking clearly:
    • I had a sudden moment of panic.
    alarm fear or worry that somebody feels when something dangerous or unpleasant might happen:
    • The doctor said there was no cause for alarm.
    fright a feeling of fear, usually sudden:
    • She cried out in fright.
     fear or fright?Fright is a reaction to something that has just happened or is happening now. Use fear, but not fright, to talk about things that always frighten you and things that may happen in the future: I have a fright of spiders. • his fright of what might happen Patterns
    • a fear/​terror of something
    • in fear/​terror/​panic/​alarm/​fright
    • fear/​terror/​panic/​alarm that…
    • to be filled with fear/​terror/​panic/​alarm
    • a feeling of fear/​terror/​panic/​alarm
    Extra Examples
    • He says that a culture of fear is behind this obsession with firearms.
    • An atmosphere of fear and hatred has been created around immigration.
    • He lied out of fear.
    • He ran away in fear.
    • The children were cowering in fear.
    • His face was white with fear.
    • I was paralysed by fear.
    • It was the first time she had experienced real fear.
    • She did not know why she should feel such fear.
    • She stared at him without fear.
    • The boy showed no fear.
    • The men hesitated in fear of whatever was to come next.
    • The men set off in fear and trepidation.
    • The people live in fear of attack by the bandits.
    • They have a terrible fear of failure.
    • When she heard the news, some of her fear subsided.
    • They obeyed through fear of punishment.
    • the constant fear of discovery
    • the fear that her mother had instilled in her
    • the girl's childhood fear of being eaten by monsters
    • Arachnophobia is an irrational fear of spiders.
    • the most primal fear, that of death
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • big
    • deep
    • deep-seated
    • …
    verb + fear
    • experience
    • feel
    • have
    • …
    fear + verb
    • abate
    • subside
    • grow
    • …
    preposition
    • for fear of
    • in fear
    • in fear of
    • …
    phrases
    • fear and loathing
    • fear and trembling
    • fear and trepidation
    • …
    See full entry
  2.  
     [countable] a feeling of concern about somebody's safety or about something bad that might happen
    • The doctor's report confirmed our worst fears.
    • Police tried hard to allay the fears of local residents.
    • fear for somebody/something her fears for her son’s safety
    • Alan spoke of his fears for the future.
    • fear that… the fear that he had cancer
    • The announcement sparked fears that interest rates will rise.
    • amid fears The government announced the new measures amid growing security fears.
    Extra Examples
    • Doctors have voiced fears that we may be facing an epidemic.
    • consumer fears about health risks
    • The concert was cancelled amid health and safety fears.
    • There are growing fears of water shortages.
    • Fears are growing of a new oil embargo.
    • Stock markets tumbled amid fears of a new recession.
    • There were fears about the weather impacting attendance.
    • My biggest fear was that my children would get sick.
    • My worst fears were confirmed.
    • Our fears proved unfounded.
    • Public fears about the disease increased.
    • The government is anxious to allay the public's fears.
    • This incident has fuelled fears of a full-scale war.
    • This stoked fears of financial difficulties.
    • new fears over terrorism
    • new terrorism fears
    3. Word OriginOld English fǣr ‘calamity, danger’, fǣran ‘frighten’, also ‘revere’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch gevaar and German Gefahr ‘danger’.
Idioms
for fear of something/of doing something | for fear (that)…
  1. to avoid the danger of something happening
    • We spoke quietly for fear of waking the guards.
    • I had to run away for fear (that) he might one day kill me.
    Extra Examples
    • Nobody refused for fear of losing their job.
    • He wrote under a false name for fear of reprisals.
    Topics Dangerc1, Feelingsc1
in fear of your life
  1. feeling frightened that you might be killedTopics Feelingsc2
no fear
  1. (British English, informal) used to say that you definitely do not want to do something
    • ‘Are you coming climbing?’ ‘No fear!’
put the fear of God into somebody
  1. to make somebody very frightened, especially in order to make them do something
strike fear, etc. into somebody/sb’s heart
  1. (formal) to make somebody be afraid, etc.
    • The sound of gunfire struck fear into the hearts of the villagers.
without fear or favour
  1. (formal) in a fair way
    • They undertook to make their judgement without fear or favour.
See fear in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee fear in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: fear

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