as in scared
filled with fear or dread
Melissa is afraid of flying, so she takes a train from Boston to visit her brother in Chicago
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of afraid
During the most recent war, videos circulated online of construction workers from China who filmed themselves stranded high in the air during missile barrages, afraid and without protection.
—
Theia Chatelle, Sun Sentinel, 27 Apr. 2026
It's all led to more Latinos seeking office to defend their communities and give voice to those who may be afraid to speak out in the current political climate.
—ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
By making people feel deeply insecure and afraid, the fascists could pose as their saviors.
—Literary Hub, 27 Apr. 2026
Chef Toni Romero isn't afraid to push the boundaries.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for afraid
Theia Chatelle, Sun Sentinel, 27 Apr. 2026
It's all led to more Latinos seeking office to defend their communities and give voice to those who may be afraid to speak out in the current political climate.
—ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
By making people feel deeply insecure and afraid, the fascists could pose as their saviors.
—Literary Hub, 27 Apr. 2026
Chef Toni Romero isn't afraid to push the boundaries.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for afraid
Recent Examples of Synonyms for afraid
Adjective
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And yet, locals weren't scared off, blinded perhaps by their love of the game.—
Lee Cowan,
CBS News,
3 May 2026
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To him, the gathering in New York was a sign of change, that people are curious enough to give it another look, and not too scared of the potential backlash.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The woman who found Nado said the feline appeared frightened but was in overall good health, according to the news outlet.—
Gina Kalsi,
PEOPLE,
8 May 2026
-
Those children hadn’t seemed frightened to me, not visibly anyway.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 May 2026
Adjective
-
The key cabin crew are flight attendants Penny (Lucy Barrett) and Zoe (Na Shi), both of whom demonstrate bravery, to different ends, and show caring attention to the terrified children.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Apr. 2026
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Though Ridley Scott works in a drastically different tone than the one John Carpenter brought to Dark Star, the two films share screenwriter Dan O’Bannon’s darkly comedic view of a future that has reduced humans to alternately bored and terrified cogs in larger machines.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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My agent, Marty Diamond, had to face down a steady stream of ‘no’s from fearful artist reps.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
27 Apr. 2026
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The question of whether Balzac’s fear was real is perhaps less interesting than the work the story does to position the fearful encounter as simply a symptom of innovation.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Let’s not confuse slightly horrified admiration for Irina’s determination with admiration for her as a person.—
Sophie Brookover,
Vulture,
24 Apr. 2026
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As the scene was projected onto a screen, Jude seemed slightly horrified to see himself in front of the camera rather than behind it.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Ramzan typed into his phone, trying not to feel alarmed by Adnan’s silence.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 May 2026
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The lawsuit was updated as Kennedy took more steps that alarmed medical societies, causing the plaintiffs to ask Murphy to take steps to address those policy changes too.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The pair shared a sweet slideshow on Instagram in December 2023 that showed Wilson getting down on one knee in front of a Christmas tree to ask a shocked van der Pol to marry him.—
Brendan Le,
PEOPLE,
28 Apr. 2026
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His death has left many shocked and outraged.—
Naveen Dhaliwal,
CBS News,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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At Cal Poly Pomona, director of media relations Cynthia Peters directed students and staff who were worried about being unable to access their course materials as a result of the incident to a Reddit post uploaded by the school’s Bookstore faculty on Thursday.—
Kristy Hutchings,
Daily News,
7 May 2026
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But locals are worried that other companies could move in.—
NPR,
NPR,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Afraid.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/afraid. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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