transcription, транскрипция: [ fɪə(r) ]
( fears, fearing, feared)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
Fear is the unpleasant feeling you have when you think that you are in danger.
I was sitting on the floor shivering with fear.
...boyhood memories of sickness and fear of the dark...
N-VAR : oft N of n / -ing
2.
If you fear someone or something, you are frightened because you think that they will harm you.
Many people fear change because they do not like the old ways to be disrupted.
VERB : V n
3.
A fear is a thought that something unpleasant might happen or might have happened.
These youngsters are motivated not by a desire to achieve, but by fear of failure...
Then one day his worst fears were confirmed...
N-VAR : with supp , oft N of n / -ing , N that
4.
If you fear something unpleasant or undesirable, you are worried that it might happen or might have happened.
She had feared she was going down with pneumonia or bronchitis...
More than two million refugees have fled the area, fearing attack by loyalist forces.
VERB : V that , V n
5.
If you say that there is a fear that something unpleasant or undesirable will happen, you mean that you think it is possible or likely.
There is a fear that the freeze on bank accounts could prove a lasting deterrent to investors.
N-VAR : oft N that , N of n / -ing
6.
If you fear for someone or something, you are very worried because you think that they might be in danger.
Carla fears for her son...
He fled on Friday, saying he feared for his life.
VERB : V for n , V for n
7.
If you have fears for someone or something, you are very worried because you think that they might be in danger.
He also spoke of his fears for the future of his country’s culture.
N-VAR : N for n
8.
You say that you fear that a situation is the case when the situation is unpleasant or undesirable, and when you want to express sympathy, sorrow, or regret about it. ( FORMAL )
I fear that a land war now looks very probable...
‘Is anything left at all?’—‘I fear not.’
= regret
VERB : V that , V so/not
9.
If you are in fear of doing or experiencing something unpleasant or undesirable, you are very worried that you might have to do it or experience it.
The elderly live in fear of assault and murder.
PHRASE : PHR n / -ing , usu v-link PHR , PHR after v
10.
If you take a particular course of action for fear of something, you take the action in order to prevent that thing happening.
She was afraid to say anything to them for fear of hurting their feelings...
PHRASE : PHR n / -ing , PHR with cl
11.
You use ‘ no fear ’ to emphasize that you do not want to do something. ( BRIT INFORMAL )
When I asked him if he wanted to change his mind, William said ‘No fear.’
CONVENTION [ emphasis ]