frightened - afraid

frightened - afraid: If you are afraid of someone or something, you feel fear because you think they may harm you.

They were afraid of you.

The guards were so afraid that they trembled.
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You can also say that you are frightened of someone or something. Frightened has the same meaning as `afraid'.

You're frightened of Alice.

Everyone here is frightened of the volcano.
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If you are unwilling to do something because you think it might be harmful or dangerous, you can say that you are afraid to do it or frightened to do it.

He was afraid to advance any farther.

What is the use of freedom if people are frightened to go out?
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Afraid is only used after verbs such as `be' and `feel'. You do not use it in front of a noun. You do not talk, for example, about `an afraid child'. However, you can talk about `a frightened child'.

He was not going to act like a frightened kid.
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You do not usually use a modifier with afraid. You do not say, for example, `I was a bit afraid'. If you want to talk about degrees of fear, you usually use frightened.

He was still very frightened.

I am just a little bit frightened.

I was too frightened to ask what was going on.
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◊ another meaning of 'afraid'

Afraid has another meaning. You use it to say that you are worried that something unpleasant might happen and you want to avoid it. When you use afraid like this, it is usually followed by a report clause.

She was afraid that I might be embarrassed.
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You can also say that you are afraid of doing something. For example, instead of saying `I was afraid that I might get lost', you can say `I was afraid of getting lost'.

She was afraid of being late for school.

He was terribly afraid of offending anyone.
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◊ 'I'm afraid...'

You use `I'm afraid...', `I'm afraid so', and `I'm afraid not' to express regret in a polite way. `I'm afraid so' means `yes'. `I'm afraid not' means `no'.

I'm afraid I can't agree.

`I hear she's leaving. Is that right?' —-`I'm afraid so.'

`Can you come round this evening?' —-`I'm afraid not.'
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afraid — adjective (often afraid of/to do) feeling fear or anxiety; frightened. ↘(afraid for) anxious about the well being of. Phrases I m afraid expressing polite apology or regret. Origin ME: past participle of the obs. verb affray, from Anglo Norman Fr … English new terms dictionary
afraid of/to do — feeling fear or anxiety; frightened. → afraid … English new terms dictionary
afraid — [ə frād′] adj. [ME affraied, pp. of affraien, AFFRAY] feeling fear; frightened; apprehensive: followed by of, that, or an infinitive: often used informally to indicate regret [I m afraid I can t go] SYN. AFRAID is applied to a general feeling of… … English World dictionary
Afraid — A*fraid , p. a. [OE. afrayed, affraide, p. p. of afraien to affray. See {Affray}, and cf. {Afeard}.] Impressed with fear or apprehension; in fear; apprehensive. [Afraid comes after the noun it limits.] Back they recoiled, afraid. Milton. [1913… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
afraid — [adj1] fearful abashed, aghast, alarmed, anxious, apprehensive, aroused, blanched, cowardly, cowed, daunted, discouraged, disheartened, dismayed, distressed, disturbed, faint hearted, frightened, frozen, have cold feet*, horrified, in awe,… … New thesaurus
frightened — [adj] very scared abashed, affrighted, afraid, aghast, alarmed, anxious, butterflies*, chicken*, chicken hearted*, cowed*, dismayed, fearful, frozen, have cold feet*, having kittens*, hung up*, in a cold sweat*, in a panic*, in a sweat*,… … New thesaurus
frightened — [frīt′ nd] adj. filled with fright; terrified SYN. AFRAID … English World dictionary
afraid — I adjective affrighted, alarmed, anxious, apprehensive, cautious, distrustful, dreading, fearful, frightened, haunted by fear, leery, nervous, scared, shrinking, terrified, terror stricken, timid, timorous, uneasy II index caitiff, leery,… … Law dictionary
afraid to ask — frightened to ask, fears asking; afraid of the possible answer to the question … English contemporary dictionary
afraid of your own shadow — afraid/scared/of your own shadow phrase very easily frightened Thesaurus: not brave or willing to take riskssynonym Main entry: shadow … Useful english dictionary

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frightened - afraid

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frightened - afraid

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