FRETTED Synonyms: 94 Similar and Opposite Words

fretted

verb

past tense of fret

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

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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

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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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as in irritated

to make sore by continued rubbing the stiff, starchy collar was fretting my neck, and I couldn't wait to change out of that costume

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Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of fretted 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 Turner fretted publicly about the world’s problems. —

David Bauder, Chicago Tribune, 6 May 2026 And many, in a district in which more than 86% of students are low-income, fretted about feeding their kids. —

Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2026 On a recent morning, Alexandre Joseph, 35, fretted about his family’s future in a loud voice, attracting the attention of passersby in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. —

Evens Sanon, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2026 On a recent morning, Alexandre Joseph, 35, fretted about his family’s future in a loud voice, attracting the attention of passersby in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. —

ABC News, 11 Apr. 2026 In 1998, the small Jesuit school in Spokane was so deep in a fiscal crisis as enrollment dwindled, some administrators fretted if the school could stay open. —

Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 4 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fretted

Verb

Others spend hundreds of millions only to be left with excess inventory, eroded margins and consumers who have already moved on.

— Keren Novack, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026
As the rocks eroded and wore away into their iconic shapes, Native people hunted, gathered and farmed beside them.

— Alia Beard Rau, USA Today, 10 June 2026