dread

1 of 3

verb

ˈdred 

dreaded; dreading; dreads

transitive verb

1

a

: to fear greatly

can't swim and dreads the water

a dreaded disease

b

archaic : to regard with awe

2

: to feel extreme reluctance to meet or face

dread the future

dreaded telling him the truth

dread the thought of speaking in public

intransitive verb

: to be apprehensive or fearful

dread not

dread

2 of 3

noun

1

a

: great fear especially in the face of impending evil

were filled with dread by reports of another terrorist attack

b

: extreme uneasiness in the face of a disagreeable prospect (see prospect entry 1 sense 4c)

dread of a social blunder

c

archaic : awe

2

: one causing fear or awe

the days of wooden ships and wooden homes, when fire was an omnipresent dread

—F. W. Saunders

3

a

: dreadlock sense 1

trimming each dread

b

dreads plural : dreadlock sense 2

looked great in dreads

dread

3 of 3

adjective

1

: causing great fear or anxiety

dread diseases

2

: inspiring awe

our dread king

Synonyms

Noun

• alarm
• alarum
• apprehension
• apprehensiveness
• foreboding
• misgiving

Adjective

• alarming
• dire
• direful
• dreadful
• fearful
• fearsome
• forbidding
• formidable
• frightening
• frightful
• ghastly
• hair-raising
• horrendous
• horrible
• horrifying
• intimidating
• redoubtable
• scary
• shocking
• spine-chilling
• terrible
• terrifying

Choose the Right Synonym for dread

fear, dread, fright, alarm, panic, terror, trepidation mean painful agitation in the presence or anticipation of danger.

fear is the most general term and implies anxiety and usually loss of courage.

fear of the unknown

dread usually adds the idea of intense reluctance to face or meet a person or situation and suggests aversion as well as anxiety.

faced the meeting with dread

fright implies the shock of sudden, startling fear.

fright at being awakened suddenly

alarm suggests a sudden and intense awareness of immediate danger.

view the situation with alarm

panic implies unreasoning and overmastering fear causing hysterical activity.

the news caused widespread panic

terror implies the most extreme degree of fear.

immobilized with terror

trepidation adds to dread the implications of timidity, trembling, and hesitation.

raised the subject with trepidation

Examples of dread in a Sentence

Verb

He can't swim and dreads going in the water.

She dreaded making speeches in front of large audiences.

I dread the day I will have to leave my friends.

I dread the thought of moving next week.

I dread to think about what they might do next.

Noun

She has a dread of failure.

He lives with the constant dread of rejection.

She awaited her punishment with dread.

The news about the war fills me with dread.

They live in constant dread of another attack.

Adjective

every ship on the Spanish Main was terrified of running into the dread pirate

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a spot that NFL teams dread being in this offseason. —Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025

The key is to plan ahead rather than dreading it or trying to avoid it altogether. —Caroline Castrillon, Forbes.com, 13 Apr. 2025

Noun

When the slasher eventually appears, stealing the group’s car before murdering them with a humorous bluntness, there is also a real atmosphere of dread. —Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 24 Apr. 2025

But his ailment looked to be grave enough to warrant dread. —Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025

Adjective

The period piece opens on its protagonist, László Tóth, a Jewish Hungarian architect immigrating to America in the 1940s, who emerges from the bowels of a ship on the Hudson River with nothing but dread. —Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2025

Margaret Atwood has captured the imagination, creeping dread, and defiant spirits of generations across the world with her work—from the near-future dystopia of The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) and Booker Prize–winning The Testaments (2019), to the compelling tangle of women’s lives in Cat’s Eye (1988). —Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 11 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb, Noun, and Adjective

Middle English dreden, from Old English drǣdan

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for dread

• bed
• bled
• bread
• bred
• dead
• ed
• fed
• fled
• ged
• head
• lead
• led

Kids Definition

dread

1 of 3 verb

ˈdred 

1

: to fear greatly

2

: to be very unwilling to meet or face

dread

2 of 3 noun

1

a

: great fear especially in the face of approaching harm

b

archaic : awe entry 1

2

: one causing fear or awe

dread

3 of 3 adjective

: causing great fear or anxiety

a dread disease