dreaded

past tense of dread

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for dreaded
feared
Verb
  • Wide swaths of the Southwest were deluged Sunday as the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel weakened and moved inland, but coastal communities already battered by high surf emerged with less damage than some officials feared.
    — Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026
  • By late September, those work-arounds had restored about half of the oil that normally passes through the strait, helping keep crude prices around $100 a barrel instead of the much higher levels many analysts had feared.
    — Brian C. Black, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dreaded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dreaded. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster