fear

fear1 [ fır ] noun ***

1. ) uncount the feeling you have when you are frightened:

Edward knew it was dangerous, but he felt no fear.

fear of: She eventually managed to overcome her fear of the dark.

live in fear (of) (=be afraid all the time): Many people live in fear of violence.

in fear: Martin screamed in fear.

be filled with fear: I was suddenly filled with fear.

shake/tremble with fear: She was shaking with fear.

2. ) count something bad or unpleasant that you are afraid might happen:

A meeting was set up to try to allay workers' fears.

fear about: There are fears about the safety of the nuclear plant.

fear of: This latest case has raised fears of an epidemic.

fear for: He expressed fears for his missing wife's safety.

fear that: Sandbags were placed along the shore amid fears that the lake would overflow.

3. ) count or uncount the possibility that something bad will happen:

fear of: There's no fear of becoming bored in a place like this.

fear (that): I don't think there's any fear that that will happen.

for fear of (doing) something/for fear (that)

in case you make something bad happen:

I didn't tell Susan about our meeting for fear of upsetting her.

Scientists reject a total ban for fear it will undermine efforts to stop the spread of malaria.

put the fear of God into someone INFORMAL

to make someone feel very frightened

=> STRIKE1

fear

fear 2 [ fır ] verb transitive ***

1. ) to feel worried and afraid that something bad will happen or has already happened:

The refugees fear persecution if they return to their own country.

One person is still missing, feared dead.

fear (that): Health experts fear that there may be a flu epidemic this winter.

2. ) to feel afraid of someone or something because they might harm you:

He was hated and feared by his colleagues.

fear to do something: neighborhoods where police feared to go

fear not OLD-FASHIONED

used for telling someone not to worry

fear the worst (for)

to feel worried that something very bad will happen or has already happened:

They were very late, and I was beginning to fear the worst.

Local shopkeepers fear the worst if the new supermarket is built.

I fear (that)/so/not SPOKEN FORMAL

used for saying that you believe something bad has happened or might happen and that you are sad about it:

I fear that we may never know what really happened.

Will he help us? I fear not.

=> NEVER

`fear for phrasal verb transitive

fear for someone/something to feel worried about someone or something because you think something bad may happen to them or has happened to them:

The police now fear for the children, who have not yet been found.

He fears for the future of the restaurant if customer numbers continue to fall.

fear for someone's life: Hundreds of innocent civilians fear for their lives.

fear for someone's safety: I fear greatly for their safety.