as in panics
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in erodes
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in wears
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 worries
to experience concern or anxiety
don't fret over whether it will be sunny tomorrow, as there's nothing we can do about it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of frets
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2025
But the good-neighbor vibe is starting to sour as Colombia frets about river access.
—John Otis, NPR, 7 Sep. 2025
As Kirk frets about commanding a hybrid Farragut–Enterprise (but mostly Enterprise) crew, Spock, Uhura, Scotty, and Chapel arrive with an assessment of the situation.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 14 Aug. 2025
Emma Soren, Vulture, 12 Aug. 2025
Noun
But the same dry, wry, demented wit, as well as the pitiless looks at one of the rare species on Earth that walks on two legs and frets about their lattes being too hot, are present and accounted for.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2025
But the good-neighbor vibe is starting to sour as Colombia frets about river access.
—John Otis, NPR, 7 Sep. 2025
As Kirk frets about commanding a hybrid Farragut–Enterprise (but mostly Enterprise) crew, Spock, Uhura, Scotty, and Chapel arrive with an assessment of the situation.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 14 Aug. 2025
Verb
Instead of asking if Kyle is okay, Fraser frets that her husband paid the tip.
—Emma Soren, Vulture, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frets
Verb
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The main channel of the Amazon River constantly erodes existing land and deposits new earth.—
Isa Cardona,
CNN Money,
23 Oct. 2025
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As the seven-week timeline erodes, some lawmakers have also shown a desire to pass a short-term funding bill that would reopen the government until late next year — but Democrats have shown resistance to that idea, too.—
Jessie Opoien,
jsonline.com,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Greenwich Village still wears its history like a second skin, every street a pulse of old New York.—
Alaa Elassar,
CNN Money,
27 Oct. 2025
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With one of largest concentrations of military bases in the country (each year, nearly 40,000 military trainees call it home), San Antonio wears its 300-year military legacy with pride.—
Symiah Dorsey,
Southern Living,
26 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Instead, the dean worries about how the situation will come off to the rest of the academic community.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
22 Oct. 2025
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Garder worries about the dollars that aren’t coming in at all if travelers decide to skip national parks during the shutdown.—
Ignacio Calderon,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The group exhausts and irritates opposing pitchers.—
Andy McCullough,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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During his appearance on Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast alongside his The Roses costar Olivia Colman, the 49-year-old actor opened up about what irritates his family members.—
Ashlyn Robinette,
People.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The logic was that whichever company won the delivery wars would have access to a potential consumer base of everyone who eats.—
Ellen Cushing,
The Atlantic,
27 Oct. 2025
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Right-wing figures have fixated on how Mamdani eats rice with his fingers, which is how it's traditionally eaten where his family originates in India.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
26 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Conjuring the troubled inner life of a young, beautiful and successful Buenos Aires fashion designer with an uncommon mix of stylistic rigor and feeling, the film frays your nerves.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Science Behind the Hack Elkus explained that the marks often seen on white or light-colored dishes are metal deposits left behind by silverware, not scratches in the glaze.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Oct. 2025
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If a pet bites or scratches someone during a rabies exposure quarantine, owners are required to report the incident to LMPHW, officials said.—
Caroline Neal,
Louisville Courier Journal,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The image released today shows Ippolito in vintage Rocky Balboa gear — the gray cutoff sweats, the thermal top, the black Chuck Taylor high tops — running on the beach with a Butkus lookalike.—
Tom Tapp,
Deadline,
20 Oct. 2025
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As seen on her Instagram Stories, Bella shared a video of her big sister lounging in sweats while smiling and eating pizza on their couch.—
Catherine Santino,
PEOPLE,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Frets.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frets. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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