afraid
adjective
, Southern also ə-ˈfred\
Definition of afraid
Keep scrolling for more
Synonyms & Antonyms for afraid
Synonyms
affrighted, aghast, alarmed, fearful, frightened, horrified, horror-struck, hysterical (also hysteric), scared, scary, shocked, spooked, terrified, terrorized
Antonyms
Visit the Thesaurus for More
Examples of afraid in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Mr McBride, for one, is not afraid to look in the mirror. — The Economist, "Australia’s surprising disregard for free speech," 15 June 2019 Beth Ford is the president and CEO of Land O’Lakes, Inc. —Private insurers are afraid of Medicare for All. — Beth Ford, Fortune, "Land O’Lakes CEO: Farmers Are in Crisis—and America Isn’t Paying Attention," 11 June 2019 Yet people who dislike VAR are not merely afraid of the march of the future; even though, oddly enough, two of the biggest English Premier League clubs will not show VAR replays in their stadiums next year. — Musa Okwonga, Quartz Africa, "How to make the case for and against VAR—video assistant referee—in the beautiful game," 10 June 2019 As medics ran tests to identify the deadly plague, even the health workers were afraid—nobody had seen this sickness before. — Gaia Vince, Quartz, "How to survive in the world’s largest refugee camp," 8 June 2019 Some farmers read messages on behalf of others who were too afraid to come. — Isaac Arnsdorf, ProPublica, "Chicken Farmers Thought Trump Was Going to Help Them. Then His Administration Did the Opposite.," 5 June 2019 History teaches us of the danger of being afraid to speak truth to power. — Alex Morales, Bloomberg.com, "President Sees Trade Deal If U.K. Loses Shackles: Trump Update," 3 June 2019 When Spirit was brought in early last week, the fawn was afraid and rejected bottles, Nicholas said. — Washington Post, "A truck driver stopped to rescue a goat or lamb. Turns out, it was something rare.," 4 June 2019 There’s a sense of history and continuity here, while at the same time not being afraid of the new or the radical. — Mark Holgate, Vogue, "Max Mara’s Ian Griffiths Talks Berlin, Bowie, Politics and Coming of Age in Punk-Era Manchester," 31 May 2019These 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.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for afraid
afraid
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of afraid
See the full definition for afraid in the English Language Learners Dictionary
afraid
adjective
\
Kids Definition of afraid
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on afraid
What made you want to look up afraid? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Words for Summer: A Quiz
-
- Which of the following words means “of or relating to summer”?
Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
-
Words for Summer: A Quiz
Test your knowledge of words related to the season of longer days and vacations.
Take the quiz -
Finance Words Quiz
Take the quiz
-
True or False?
Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.
Take the quiz -
Dictionary Devil
The dictionary has been scrambled—can you put it back together?
Play the game
Share afraid
Resources for afraid