dread
Americanverb (used with object)
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to fear greatly; be in extreme apprehension of.
to dread death.
- Antonyms:
- welcome
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to be reluctant to do, meet, or experience.
I dread going to big parties.
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Archaic. to hold in respectful awe.
verb (used without object)
noun
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terror or apprehension as to something in the future; great fear.
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a person or thing dreaded.
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Informal. dreads, dreadlocks.
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Informal. a person who wears dreadlocks.
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Archaic. deep awe or reverence.
verb
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to anticipate with apprehension or terror
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to fear greatly
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archaic to be in awe of
noun
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great fear; horror
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an object of terror
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slang a Rastafarian
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archaic deep reverence
adjective
Related Words
See fear.
Other Word Forms
- dreadable adjective
- dreadness noun
- predread noun
- undreaded adjective
- undreading adjective
Etymology
Origin of dread
First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English dreden (verb), Old English drǣdan, aphetic variant of adrǣdan, ondrǣdan; cognate with Old High German intrātan “to fear”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"The feeling of dread was knowing something had gone very much amiss, and what was that going to mean for the children?"
From BBC
A spark of something besides dread lights in my chest.
From Literature
The moment I’ve been hoping for and dreading at the same time.
From Literature
She gazed at Deadwood with dreamlike curiosity, unlike most people, who peered at Clare’s tangled woods with dread, or disgust, or, worst of all, as if it were something they could own.
From Literature
"I hate school holidays. I hate the half-term. I hate Christmas. I dread the phone ringing, because the bites do increase during the holiday period and half-term and it's just horrendous."
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
