Definition of AFRAID

Examples of afraid in a Sentence

Melissa is afraid of flying, so she takes a train from Boston to visit her brother in Chicago.

Recent Examples of afraid from the Web

Justin Thomas has never been afraid to wear outfits that are a little outside the box.

— alex makrides, ajc, "Justin Thomas wows twitter with his first round outfit at The Open Championship," 20 July 2017
For new flavor ideas, Fredette often turns to upcoming chefs and bartenders, who aren’t afraid to experiment with bold ingredients and pairings.

— laura entis, Fortune, "Ben & Jerry’s Flavor Maker: Get Ready for Kombucha-Inspired Ice Cream," 16 July 2017
They aren’t taught to cower to the police or to be afraid of the police.

— Longreads, "An Unforgiving Legal System Welcomes Black Immigrants to America," 10 July 2017
But the University of California San Diego’s Roshanak Kheshti, who grew up in Nashville after moving from Iran with her family in the late ’70s, has never been afraid of hard work.

— andrew hamlin, sandiegouniontribune.com, "UC San Diego professor pens book on ‘Switched-On Bach’," 8 July 2017
Graizer too often seems afraid to potentially offend anyone (but especially straight audiences along for the ride) and too polite to explore the darker recesses of grief, desire and sexuality.

— boyd van hoeij, The Hollywood Reporter, "'The Cakemaker' ('Der Kuchenmacher'): Film Review | Karlovy Vary 2017," 7 July 2017
When the first wave of young prisoners began arriving in October, Bayiz says her staff was afraid of them.

— emily feldman, MSNBC Newsweek, "Can ISIS's Indoctrinated Kids be Saved From a Future of Violent Jihad?," 6 July 2017
For example, the paper notes, Putin once brought a black Lab to a meeting with Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel, who’s afraid of dogs.

— adam k. raymond, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Reportedly Prepping for Putin Meeting With ‘Tweet-Length’ Briefings," 5 July 2017
And don’t be afraid to discuss your feelings and change your approach if things aren’t working.

— abby hayes, USA TODAY, "Pros and cons of sharing your finances as a married couple," 5 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'afraid.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of afraid

Middle English affraied, from past participle of affraien to frighten — more at affray

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First Known Use: 14th century

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afraid Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of afraid

fearful, apprehensive, afraid mean disturbed by fear. fearful implies often a timorous or worrying temperament. the child is fearful of loud noises apprehensive suggests a state of mind and implies a premonition of evil or danger. apprehensive of being found out afraid often suggests weakness or cowardice and regularly implies inhibition of action or utterance. afraid to speak the truth

afraid