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to dread

to dread

149 4.8
To feel very afraid about something that may happen
  • verb
  • /drɛd/
translation icon : temer
  • She dreads the thought of speaking in public, worrying that she might forget her lines.
  • dread leaving

I went from work and I would come home dreading going into that house.

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Examples

  • And to be perfectly honest, I dread it.

  • The thing I most dread is boredom.

  • And my dad was, you know, I used to dread my school reports coming.

  • It's been a few months and I kind of dread having to look at her.

  • So what about other people who also dread cancer?

  • What I once used to dream I now dread.

  • I was very tired and cold and just dreading going in the water.

  • I just dread telling Ellie.

  • Are you taking that dream vacation this summer but dreading the cost?

  • Many people, it seems, have social phobias that make them dread running into people at the grocery store.

    Fiction book (1993)

Synonyms

to worry
vsto dread
1.0

To feel nervous or afraid about possible problems

is much stronger, showing intense apprehension rather than mere concern
to fear
vsto dread
1.0

To be afraid that something bad may happen

is stronger, expressing very intense apprehension rather than general anxiety

How Fearful

to panic
272 2.3
to dread
149 4.8
to fear
1.0
to worry
1.0

Surface Forms

dread infinitive
dreaded past
dreaded past participle
dreading present participle
dreads third person singular

Etymology

Dread comes from an old English word that meant 'fear'. Think of a heavy, growing worry about something bad — that is why to dread something is to feel great fear or worry about it.