fear (fears plural & 3rd person present) (fearing present participle) (feared past tense & past participle )
1 n-var Fear is the unpleasant feeling you have when you think that you are in danger.
oft N of n/-ing
I was sitting on the floor shivering with fear., ...boyhood memories of sickness and fear of the dark...
2 verb 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. V n
3 n-var A fear is a thought that something unpleasant might happen or might have happened.
with supp, oft N of n/-ing, N that
These youngsters are motivated not by a desire to achieve, but by fear of failure..., Then one day his worst fears were confirmed...
4 verb 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... V that
More than two million refugees have fled the area, fearing attack by loyalist forces. V n
5 n-var If you say that there is a fearthat something unpleasant or undesirable will happen, you mean that you think it is possible or likely.
oft N that, N of n/-ing
There is a fear that the freeze on bank accounts could prove a lasting deterrent to investors.
6 verb 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... V for n
He fled on Friday, saying he feared for his life. V for n
7 n-var If you have fears for someone or something, you are very worried because you think that they might be in danger.
N for n
He also spoke of his fears for the future of his country's culture.
8 verb 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
(=regret)
I fear that a land war now looks very probable... V that
`Is anything left at all?'—`I fear not.' 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.
in fear of phrase PHR n/-ing, usu v-link PHR, PHR after v
The elderly live in fear of assault and murder.
10 If you take a particular course of action for fear of something, you take the action in order to prevent that thing happening.
for fear of phrase PHR n/-ing, PHR with cl
She was afraid to say anything to them for fear of hurting their feelings...
11 You use `no fear' to emphasize that you do not want to do something.
(BRIT)
INFORMAL
no fear convention
(emphasis)
When I asked him if he wanted to change his mind, William said `No fear.'
