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Glite Dictionary
to outgrow one's fear

to outgrow one's fear

5.9
To stop being afraid of something as you get older
  • phrasal verb
  • /aʊtˈɡroʊ wʌnz fɪr/
translation icon : superar un miedo
  • Many children eventually outgrow their fear of speaking in front of a class.

Examples

  • Do you think he will outgrow his fear of speaking in public?

  • With therapy, Jack was able to outgrow his fear of dogs.

  • As she got older, she managed to outgrow her fear of the dark.

  • I believe that with time, he will outgrow his fear of dogs.

  • As she grew older, she managed to outgrow her fear of speaking in public.

  • With time and practice, he was able to outgrow his fear of dark places.

  • After years of courage-building exercises, she finally outgrew her fear of heights.

Synonyms

to overcome
vsto outgrow one's fear
429 2.9

Deal with and defeat a problem or fear

happens through maturing rather than by actively defeating it
to outgrow
vsto outgrow one's fear
35 3.9

Become too large or old for something so it is not suitable

focuses on maturing beyond a personal worry rather than physical unsuitability
to grow out of
vsto outgrow one's fear
31 3.2

Stop liking, doing, or feeling something as you get older

describes stopping being affected through natural maturity rather than by effort

How Afraid

to outgrow one's fear
5.9

Surface Forms

outgrow one's fear infinitive
outgrowing one's fear present participle
outgrows one's fear third person singular
outgrew one's fear past
outgrown one's fear past participle

Morphology

outgrow + one + fear

The verb 'outgrow' (to grow beyond or no longer be affected by) combined with 'one's fear' yields the meaning directly: to stop being affected by that fear. This is a compositional, cross-linguistically common pattern (e.g., 'grow out of' / 'superar/dejar de tener miedo') and would be clear to a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.

Etymology

Outgrow one's fear comes from the image of a child getting too big for their clothes or shoes. So, to outgrow a fear means to grow or change until that fear no longer fits you and you are 'no longer affected' by it.