1
as in to erode
to consume or wear away gradually
over the span of thousands of years, the annual spring runoff fretted the rock, forming a deep channel
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to wear
to damage or diminish by continued friction
don't let the girth fret the horse's belly or you won't be able to ride him
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to worry
to experience concern or anxiety
don't fret over whether it will be sunny tomorrow, as there's nothing we can do about it
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in panic
a state of nervous or irritated concern
one of my customers always gets into a fret if I'm so much as 15 minutes late delivering his newspaper
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fret
Lauren Landers, The Spruce, 10 Jan. 2026
Don’t fret — there’s plenty of room for joy and passion in your love story.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 10 Jan. 2026
There’s much to look forward to—the novelties due to come out at LVMH’s 2026 Watch Week in Milan later this month, for starters—but also much to fret over.
—Victoria Gomelsky, Robb Report, 7 Jan. 2026
The state’s changes to the rates chafed some local districts’ officials, including fire districts that fretted about affording equipment and firefighters as risks from wildfires loomed large year-round.
—Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 6 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fret
Verb
Don’t fret if propagated roses don’t flower during their first year!
—Lauren Landers, The Spruce, 10 Jan. 2026
Don’t fret — there’s plenty of room for joy and passion in your love story.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 10 Jan. 2026
There’s much to look forward to—the novelties due to come out at LVMH’s 2026 Watch Week in Milan later this month, for starters—but also much to fret over.
—Victoria Gomelsky, Robb Report, 7 Jan. 2026
The state’s changes to the rates chafed some local districts’ officials, including fire districts that fretted about affording equipment and firefighters as risks from wildfires loomed large year-round.
—Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 6 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fret
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fret
Verb
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Confidence erodes, even when results look strong.—
Melissa Houston,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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And there are signs that assumptions about men’s unwillingness to use such products are eroding.—
Ana Castelain,
Bloomberg,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Adding onto the wear-and-tear element was that Monday’s game was a back-to-back, one caused by Saturday’s matchup being postponed to Sunday after a federal immigration agent shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday morning.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
27 Jan. 2026
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The suspect is described as a man about six feet tall, wearing a black hoodie and black pants.—
Anna McAllister,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Alinejad views her mission as exposing the situation in Iran and giving voice to victims, but worries the attempts on her life will create a fear of inviting her to speak.—
Katrina Kaufman,
CBS News,
28 Jan. 2026
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Lindsay Koshgarian, the program director of the National Priorities Project who has been tracking deployment costs, worries that at some point, these expenses will affect funding for other important military priorities.—
Juliana Kim,
NPR,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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A lot of anti-aging skincare contains ingredients like retinol that can be drying and irritating, but Cetaphil has a possible solution.—
Lauren Taylor,
Southern Living,
30 Jan. 2026
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Cold outdoor air plus active heat indoors can pull moisture from both the scalp and hair shaft, which can be irritating.—
Helen Carefoot,
Flow Space,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Phrases such as new rules or urgent account issues are designed to trigger panic before logic has a chance to catch up.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
1 Feb. 2026
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The work ultimately was not about murder or church burning or Satanic panic, but about complicity, reflecting Ruch’s role as the accomplice back onto the viewer.—
Rachel Wetzler,
Artforum,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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How to make even healthy eating affordable One way to make more expensive items like meat and seafood more affordable is to buy them in bulk.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
31 Jan. 2026
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On Thwaites itself, part of the team will try today to drop a fiber-optic cable through a 3,200-foot borehole in the ice, near the glacier’s grounding line, where the ocean is eating away at it from below.—
Christian Elliott,
The Atlantic,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Right now, too many of those threads are fraying.—
Cat Ward,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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The documents that Dooley was now handling were barely yellowed, their edges lightly frayed, the oak gall ink ranging from brown to black.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Still, even some fans of the project were left scratching their heads.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
1 Feb. 2026
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Dip a soft toothbrush into the solution and use it to gently clean grooves, being careful not to bend, compress, or scratch the gasket.—
Louise Parks,
Martha Stewart,
31 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fret.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fret. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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