as in worrying
to experience concern or anxiety
her friends feared that she was dating a guy who was all wrong for her
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Recent Examples of fearing
In these quicksand environments, people become overly dependent on external validations, fearing the unknown and lacking the right skills to move forward.
—
Glenn Llopis, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
Colum cries, fearing that his brother will pledge MacKenzie money to the Jacobite cause.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 12 Sep. 2025
The press, however—fearing backlash to its positive depiction of interracial romance—rewrote the conclusion without Grey’s knowledge or consent, killing off Nophaie and the offending prospect of miscegenation.
—Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2025
Perhaps fearing a backlash if Kamala Harris won the presidency, Modi changed his mind about the meeting, which never took place.
—Vaibhav Vats, The Atlantic, 10 Sep. 2025
The White House did not immediately publicize the order and, fearing imminent removal to an unknown location, some migrants sued.
—Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 9 Sep. 2025
Given this, Gulf countries may silently welcome the decrease in Iran’s military power in the wake of Israel’s recent war against Iran and its allies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, while also fearing further Iranian-Israeli conflict.
—David Mednicoff, The Conversation, 9 Sep. 2025
Yet even in the face of these losses, many retailers remain hesitant to modernize their approach to returns, fearing that stricter policies could hurt customer satisfaction.
—Footwear News, 4 Sep. 2025
Some student activist groups and civil society groups called off protests on Monday, fearing a harsher crackdown from authorities.
—Chad De Guzman, Time, 1 Sep. 2025
Glenn Llopis, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
Colum cries, fearing that his brother will pledge MacKenzie money to the Jacobite cause.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 12 Sep. 2025
The press, however—fearing backlash to its positive depiction of interracial romance—rewrote the conclusion without Grey’s knowledge or consent, killing off Nophaie and the offending prospect of miscegenation.
—Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2025
Perhaps fearing a backlash if Kamala Harris won the presidency, Modi changed his mind about the meeting, which never took place.
—Vaibhav Vats, The Atlantic, 10 Sep. 2025
The White House did not immediately publicize the order and, fearing imminent removal to an unknown location, some migrants sued.
—Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 9 Sep. 2025
Given this, Gulf countries may silently welcome the decrease in Iran’s military power in the wake of Israel’s recent war against Iran and its allies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, while also fearing further Iranian-Israeli conflict.
—David Mednicoff, The Conversation, 9 Sep. 2025
Yet even in the face of these losses, many retailers remain hesitant to modernize their approach to returns, fearing that stricter policies could hurt customer satisfaction.
—Footwear News, 4 Sep. 2025
Some student activist groups and civil society groups called off protests on Monday, fearing a harsher crackdown from authorities.
—Chad De Guzman, Time, 1 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fearing
worrying
Verb
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This willingness of the AI to heap praise and act as a sycophant has worrying consequences for the populace as a whole.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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In fact, Federal Reserve policymakers have already started worrying about the housing market.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
14 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fearing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fearing. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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