afraid

Meanings

1. Feeling fear or worry about something.
2. Sorry to say, used to introduce bad news politely.

Example sentences

• "She was afraid of the dark when she was little."

  Level A1, Meaning 1

• "I am afraid I cannot come tomorrow."

  Level A2, Meaning 2

• "Don't be afraid to ask questions."

  Level A1, Meaning 1

• "He is afraid that he will fail the test."

  Level A2, Meaning 1

Synonyms and antonyms

Look-alikes and common mistakes

• scared : Scared is the common, informal word for afraid. Afraid is slightly more neutral and polite.
• frightened : Frightened says that something has just made you afraid. Afraid can describe a lasting feeling.

Word family and forms

Word partners

Words and phrases that often go with "afraid".

• afraid of
• afraid to
• afraid that
• I am afraid
• very afraid
• afraid of the dark

Idioms and phrases

afraid of your own shadow

Very easily frightened.

"After the accident, she was afraid of her own shadow."

Origin

Afraid is an old spelling of affrayed, the past participle of the Middle English verb affray, which meant to disturb or to frighten. The verb came from Anglo-Norman and Old French and meant to terrify or to disquiet. So afraid first meant frightened by something.

Checked against: Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Dictionary.com.

Usage notes

"Afraid" is usually followed by "of" when naming what someone fears.

How to remember it

Afraid has a fray inside: a-FRAID. A fray is a fight, and fear comes before one.

Test yourself

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