afraid

[ uh-freyd ]
/ əˈfreɪd /

adjective

feeling fear; filled with apprehension: afraid to go.
feeling regret, unhappiness, or the like: I'm afraid we can't go on Monday.
feeling reluctance, unwillingness, distaste, or the like: He seemed afraid to show his own children a little kindness.

Origin of afraid

variant spelling of affrayed, past participle of affray to disturb, frighten

synonym study for afraid

1. Afraid, alarmed, frightened, terrified all indicate a state of fear. Afraid implies inner apprehensive disquiet: afraid of the dark. Alarmed implies that the feelings are aroused through realization of some imminent or unexpected danger to oneself or others: alarmed by (or about ) someone's illness. Frightened means shocked with sudden, but usually short-lived, fear, especially that arising from apprehension of physical harm: frightened by an accident. Terrified suggests the emotional reaction when one is struck with a violent, overwhelming fear: terrified by an earthquake.

OTHER WORDS FROM afraid

half-a·fraid, adjective un·a·fraid, adjective

Example sentences from the Web for afraid

British Dictionary definitions for afraid

afraid
/ (əˈfreɪd) /

adjective (postpositive)

(often foll by of) feeling fear or apprehension; frightened he was afraid of cats
reluctant (to do something), as through fear or timidity he was afraid to let himself go
(often foll by that; used to lessen the effect of an unpleasant statement) regretful I'm afraid that I shall have to tell you to go

Word Origin for afraid

C14: affraied, past participle of affray (to frighten)