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Glite Dictionary
bone-shaking fear

bone-shaking fear

8.3
A very strong fear that feels like it shakes your body
  • noun
translation icon : miedo estremecedor
  • The dark alley filled me with a sudden, bone-shaking fear I couldn't control.

Examples

  • The bone-shaking fear gripped her heart during the horror movie.

  • When the house shook during the earthquake, a bone-shaking fear gripped everyone inside.

  • He had faced danger before, but nothing compared to the bone-shaking fear he felt then.

  • He felt a bone-shaking fear as he entered the dark room.

  • As the thunder roared overhead, a wave of bone-shaking fear washed over me, making my heart race.

  • The moment she saw the shadow lurking in the corner, a bone-shaking fear took hold of her.

  • He froze in place, paralyzed by a bone-shaking fear that made it hard to breathe.

Synonyms

horror
vsbone-shaking fear
441 2.1

A very strong feeling of fear, shock, or disgust

is an overwhelming bodily fear rather than emotional shock or disgust
grue
vsbone-shaking fear
  • Archaic
9.9

A sudden feeling of fear that makes you shiver

is an extremely intense overwhelming bodily fear that affects the whole body

Antonyms

calm
735 1.0

Not showing strong feelings and being very still

confidence
456 2.1

A belief that you can do something well

bravery
104 2.3

A person's willingness to face danger or pain without fear

How Fearful

bone-shaking fear
8.3
terror
282 4.9
panic
394 2.7
fear
∞ 1.0
nervousness
36 2.7

Surface Forms

bone-shaking fear singular
bone-shaking fears plural

Morphology

bone-shaking + fear

The phrase is compositionally built from 'bone' + 'shaking' modifying 'fear' so a learner who knows 'bone', 'shake/shaking' and 'fear' can readily infer it means a fear so intense it seems to physically shake you. This adjectival intensifier pattern is a straightforward, cross-linguistically familiar metaphorical extension rather than an opaque idiom, making the meaning accessible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Bone-shaking fear paints a picture of terror so strong it feels like your bones are trembling. The parts bone and shaking make you imagine your whole body trembling, so the phrase means 'extremely intense and overwhelming fear'.