night fear
- noun
:
miedo nocturno
- His night fear became so severe that he was afraid to fall asleep alone.
Examples
-
Many children experience night fear after hearing scary stories before bed.
-
Therapists sometimes help patients cope with persistent night fear related to past trauma.
-
Don't let night fears control you!
-
She often experiences night fear when alone.
-
His night fear became so severe that he was afraid to fall asleep alone.
-
Many children experience night fear after hearing scary stories before bed.
-
She often experiences night fear when alone in the dark.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A very strong fear of the dark that can cause panic
Antonyms
How Afraid
- Specialized
22
7.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'night' (the period of darkness) modifies 'fear' (anxiety), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it refers to fear experienced at night. This follows a common attributive-noun compounding pattern found across languages, so the sense is transparent even if the exact collocation is not highly frequent.
Etymology
Night fear comes from the simple picture of being alone in the night, when darkness and silence make small things seem larger and your fear grows. So it is used to mean 'feeling fear or anxiety at night'.