a|fraid

a|fraid: a|fraid «uh FRAYD», adjective.

1. feeling fear; frightened; alarmed: »She is afraid of the dark.

2. unwilling because of fear: »Shy people are often afraid to speak up.

3. sorry to have to say: »I'm afraid I must ask you to leave now. I'm afraid you are wrong about that.

╂[(originally) past participle of archaic afray to frighten]

Synonym Study 1 Afraid, frightened, terrified mean feeling fear. Afraid, which is never used before the noun, means being in a mental state of fear which may have either a real or an imagined cause and may be brief or last long: »He is sometimes afraid of snakes.
Frightened, commonly used instead of afraid before the noun, particularly means suddenly made afraid, often only momentarily, by a real and present cause: »The frightened child ran home.
Terrified means suddenly filled with a very great and paralyzing fear: »Terrified by heights, I couldn't bring myself to look at the bottom of the canyon.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

fraid — fraid; fraid·cat; … English syllables
fraid|y cat — «FRAY dee», U.S. Slang. (used by children) a person who is easily frightened; timorous person … Useful english dictionary
fraid-cat — • fraidy cat • fraid cat • scaredy cat • scared cat noun informal A shy person; someone who is easily frightened. Usually used by or to children. Tom was a fraidy cat and wouldn t go in the water … Словарь американских идиом
'fraid — [frād] v. informal nonstandard contraction of afraid or I m afraid, expressing regret fraid not, doll … Useful english dictionary
'fraid — adjective afraid … Wiktionary
Fraid — Übernamen zu mhd. vreide »abtrünnig, flüchtig; mutig, kühn; übermütig, trotzig«, mhd. vreidжre »Wortbrüchiger« … Wörterbuch der deutschen familiennamen
'fraid so — See afraid so … English idioms
'fraid — frayed … English homophone dictionary
fraid — ˈfrād adjective Etymology: by shortening dialect : afraid … Useful english dictionary
un|a|fraid — «UHN uh FRAYD», adjective. not afraid; fearless: »The menace of the years finds, and shall find, me unafraid (William Ernest Henley) … Useful english dictionary

Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias