1
as in eroded
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 wore
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 worried
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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fretted
But the recent action on Anthropic, as well as asking OpenAI to limit its own newest model, comes after experts have fretted for months that Mythos could pose a security risk by giving hackers and other bad actors access to AI capable of finding and exploiting vulnerabilities exceptionally quickly.
—
Hadas Gold,
CNN Money,
27 June 2026
Copilot has struggled, and Microsoft’s shares are down double-digits in the past year as investors have fretted over AI’s impact on software, Microsoft’s reliance on OpenAI, and its heavy data center spending.
—
Sebastian Herrera,
Fortune,
27 June 2026
But where some insiders fretted about the social blowback, Jenkins knew the flap was priceless marketing for the brand.
—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
24 June 2026
In it, Heuermann complained about jail food and exercise conditions and fretted that guards might be reading his mail.
—
Michael Ruiz,
FOXNews.com,
17 June 2026
Ever since the proposal was first brought forward, local officials have fretted over its potential impacts on operations and services — albeit with an incomplete picture of its impacts.
—
Ryan Gillespie,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 June 2026
For months, Democrats publicly fretted that the fractured field of candidates could lead to a Republican-on-Republican runoff, locking the party out of the governor’s mansion for the first time in two decades.
—
Lia Russell,
Sacbee.com,
1 June 2026
In his encyclical, Leo fretted about multiple ongoing wars, lamented the decline of multilateral coalitions and blasted arms industry profits as driving the conflicts.
—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
Multiple Wall Street firms fretted about the company's long-term growth prospects in the face of AI.
—
Tobias Burns,
CNBC,
28 May 2026
Hadas Gold,
CNN Money,
27 June 2026
Copilot has struggled, and Microsoft’s shares are down double-digits in the past year as investors have fretted over AI’s impact on software, Microsoft’s reliance on OpenAI, and its heavy data center spending.
—
Sebastian Herrera,
Fortune,
27 June 2026
But where some insiders fretted about the social blowback, Jenkins knew the flap was priceless marketing for the brand.
—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
24 June 2026
In it, Heuermann complained about jail food and exercise conditions and fretted that guards might be reading his mail.
—
Michael Ruiz,
FOXNews.com,
17 June 2026
Ever since the proposal was first brought forward, local officials have fretted over its potential impacts on operations and services — albeit with an incomplete picture of its impacts.
—
Ryan Gillespie,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 June 2026
For months, Democrats publicly fretted that the fractured field of candidates could lead to a Republican-on-Republican runoff, locking the party out of the governor’s mansion for the first time in two decades.
—
Lia Russell,
Sacbee.com,
1 June 2026
In his encyclical, Leo fretted about multiple ongoing wars, lamented the decline of multilateral coalitions and blasted arms industry profits as driving the conflicts.
—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
Multiple Wall Street firms fretted about the company's long-term growth prospects in the face of AI.
—
Tobias Burns,
CNBC,
28 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fretted
Verb
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Beyond hiring and leadership decisions, trust is also built or eroded through everyday behavior.
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Starmer is leaving after two years in office marred by missteps and judgment errors that eroded his standing with his party and the public.
Verb
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The Nike Air Max Joga Bonito R9 mashes up the boot Ronaldo wore for the 1998 World Cup with the Air Max 95.
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Witherspoon wore a hot pink plunging Prada gown to the occasion—perfectly on brand for Elle.
Verb
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Shami, overwhelmed with grief, was taken to the maternity ward to be monitored, with doctors worried about her and the baby.
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OpenAI has worried that Elon Musk's company's initial rally and subsequent fall signals retail investors may have less interest in buying, the report said.
Verb
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Hasslers, the researchers found, tended to be people who irritated the study respondents but whom the respondents could not escape.
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But one snafu irritated a sizable portion of the more than 3,000 students gathered at Arie Crown Theater to hear the astronauts discuss their mission.
Verb
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On one day in late December, Eden barely ate all day.
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While neither is an effective big league pitcher at this point, those moves ate into the Yankees’ limited rotation depth.
Verb
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Trump’s posturing underscored how his alliance with Meloni — long seen as one of his closest friends in Europe — has frayed over his war in Iran, his tariffs against Europe and his complaints when anyone disagrees with him.
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Meloni is astonished and defiant Trump’s posturing underscored how his alliance with Meloni — who has long been seen as one of his closest friends in Europe — has frayed over his war in Iran, his tariffs against Europe and his complaints when anyone disagrees with him.
Verb
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Schwarber was scratched minutes before Tuesday's game with lower back tightness.
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There’s the obvious joy of indulging in French cuisine at every craving’s whim, from world-class pastries to bistro classics, but for Architectural Digest’s global director of audience development, Pujah Shah, that just scratched the surface of the many in-destination babymoon perks.
Verb
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But did Spilotro go about life as an upstanding model citizen who rubbed elbows with the Vegas elite, while quietly and stealthily protecting the Mafia's financial interests in Vegas casinos?
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With its Jewish delis, atmospheric dive bars, and underground music scene, the Mile End neighborhood minted the defining Montreal cool of the indie aughts—a place where cardiganed Italian grandmas rubbed shoulders with tattooed creatives.
Cite this Entry
“Fretted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fretted. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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