Library / English Dictionary

DREAD

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Fearful expectation or anticipation

Example:

the student looked around the examination room with apprehension

Synonyms:

apprehension; apprehensiveness; dread

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Hypernyms ("dread" is a kind of...):

fear; fearfulness; fright (an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "dread"):

trepidation (a feeling of alarm or dread)

boding; foreboding; premonition; presentiment (a feeling of evil to come)

suspense (apprehension about what is going to happen)

gloom; gloominess; somberness; sombreness (a feeling of melancholy apprehension)

chill; pall (a sudden numbing dread)

Derivation:

dread (be afraid or scared of; be frightened of)

dread (causing fear or dread or terror)

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Causing fear or dread or terror

Example:

a terrible curse

Synonyms:

awful; dire; direful; dread; dreaded; dreadful; fearful; fearsome; frightening; horrendous; horrific; terrible

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

alarming (frightening because of an awareness of danger)

Derivation:

dread (fearful expectation or anticipation)

 III. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Be afraid or scared of; be frightened of

Example:

We should not fear the Communists!

Synonyms:

dread; fear

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "dread"):

panic (be overcome by a sudden fear)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

Sam cannot dread Sue

Derivation:

dread (fearful expectation or anticipation)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Feelings of fear, dread, and uneasiness that may occur as a reaction to stress.

(Anxiety, NCI Dictionary)

I grew to await it with a nameless dread.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Scientists were able to successfully remove a gene that caused Alzheimer's disease from the human brain, possibly paving the way for a new kind of treatment against the dreaded illness.

(Alzheimer's Disease Gene Successfully Removed From Human Brain, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

A drug used to treat symptoms of anxiety, such as feelings of fear, dread, uneasiness, and muscle tightness, that may occur as a reaction to stress.

(Antianxiety agent, NCI Dictionary)

Then in the dread of his heart he cried: Dear Mr Bear, spare me, I will give you all my treasures; look, the beautiful jewels lying there!

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

He has been idling all this term, and he must look forward with dread to the examination.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Even my dread of losing a client could not restrain me from showing my impatience.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

There was one part especially, the opening of it, which I should dread your having the power of reading again.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

I should dread the stupidity of the day, if there were not a much greater evil to follow—the impression it must leave on Sir Thomas.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

With these feelings, she rather dreaded than sought for the first view of that well-known spire which would announce her within twenty miles of home.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)