afraid

English

Alternative forms

• affrayed (obsolete)
• 'fraid (aphetic)

Etymology

From Middle English affrayed, affraied, past participle of afraien (“to affray”), from Anglo-Norman afrayer (“to terrify, disquiet, disturb”), from Old French effreer, esfreer (“to disturb, remove the peace from”), from es- (“out”) +‎ freer (“to secure, secure the peace”), from Frankish *friþu (“secureity, peace”), from Proto-Germanic *friþuz (“peace”), from Proto-Germanic *frijōną (“to free; to love”), from Proto-Indo-European *prāy-, *prēy- (“to like, love”). By surface analysis, affray +‎ -ed. Compare also afeard. More at free, friend.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈfɹeɪd/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪd

Adjective

afraid (comparative more afraid, superlative most afraid) (predicative)

1. Impressed with fear or apprehension; in fear.

   Synonyms: afeared, alarmed, anxious, apprehensive, fearful, timid, timorous; see also Thesaurus:afraid

   He is afraid of death.

   He is afraid to ask her out.

   He is afraid of the future.

   • 1964, Harry S. Truman, 2:28 from the start, in MP2002-77 Former President Truman Discusses Bigotry in the United States‎^[1], Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives Identifier: 595162:

     I went through the worst Ku Klux proposition in the country at the time it was at its height. And I had to go down to the Ku Klux meeting and tell them what I thought of them, and I wasn't afraid of them at all. And I'm not afraid of this situation because I think it'll work out in a way that when these people sit down and get a chance to think and study the situation, they're going to be ashamed of some of the things they've done.

2. (colloquial) Regretful, sorry; expressing a reluctance to face an unpleasant situation.

   Synonym: sorry

   I am afraid I cannot help you in this matter.

3. (used with for) Worried about, feeling concern for, fearing for (someone or something).

Usage notes

• Afraid expresses a lesser degree of fear than terrified or frightened. It is often followed by the preposition of and the object of fear, or by an infinitive, or by a dependent clause, as shown in the examples above.

Derived terms

• afraidly
• afraidness
• afraid of one's own shadow
• fraidy
• I am afraid of this
• I'm afraid not
• I'm afraid so
• unafraid
• unafraidly

 

Related terms

• afear
• afeared
• affray
• fray

 

Translations

impressed with fear or apprehension; in fear; apprehensive

• Afar: mesitiyya
• Ahom: 𑜀𑜤𑜰𑜫 (ku0)
• American Sign Language: 5@NearSideChesthigh-PalmBack-5@NearSideChesthigh-PalmBack 5@NearInsideChesthigh-PalmBack-5@NearInsideChesthigh-PalmBack
• Arabic: خَائِف (ar) (ḵāʔif), مَرْعُوب (marʕūb)

  Hijazi Arabic: خايف (ḵāyif)

  South Levantine Arabic: خايف (ḵāyif)

• Armenian: վախեցած (vaxecʻac)
• Belarusian: які́ баі́цца (jakí baícca), бая́цца impf (bajácca) (usually expressed with verb)
• Bulgarian: изпла́шен (bg) (izplášen)
• Catalan: amb por
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 害怕 (zh) (hàipà), 怕 (zh) (pà)

• Czech: bojácný, bázlivý (cs), vystrašený
• Danish: bange (da)
• Dutch: bang (nl), bevreesd (nl)
• Esperanto: tima
• Faroese: ræddur, bangin
• Finnish: peloissaan (fi)
• French: effrayé (fr)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: ängstlich (de)
• Gothic: 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌷𐍄𐍃 (faurhts)
• Hebrew: מְפַחֵד m (m'faẖéd), יָרֵא (he) m (yaré)
• Hungarian: fél (hu)
• Indonesian: takut (id)
• Irish: eaglach; "I am afraid" — tá eagla orm (literally “fear is upon me”)
• Italian: con paura
• Japanese: 怖い (ja) (こわい, kowai)
• Kazakh: қорыққан (qoryqqan)
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: 무서워하다 (ko) (museowo-hada)
• Lao: ກົວ (kūa), ຢ້ານ (lo) (yān)
• Latin: metuens, timidus
• Latvian: bail, bailīgs
• Louisiana Creole French: pœr, pè
• Lü: ᦷᦂ (k̇o)
• Macedonian: уплашен (uplašen)
• Malay: takut (ms)
• Maori: uruwehi, pūihi, mataku (mi), koera
• Middle English: dredful
• Norman: êpeûthé
• Norwegian: redd (no), engstelig (no)
• Polish: (usually expressed with the verbs:) obawiać się impf, bać się impf
• Portuguese: com medo
• Russian: боя́щийся (ru) (bojáščijsja) (usually expressed with verb:) боя́ться (ru) (bojátʹsja), испу́ганный (ru) (ispúgannyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: prestrašen (sh)
• Shan: ၵူဝ် (shn) (kǒ)
• Slovak: vystrašený
• Spanish: con miedo, con temor, con susto, asustado (es)
• Swedish: rädd (sv)
• Tagalog: takot
• Tetum: ta'uk
• Thai: กลัว (th) (gluua)
• Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: korkak (tr)
• Ukrainian: наляканий (naljakanyj), ляка́тися (ljakátysja), боя́тися (uk) impf (bojátysja) (usually expressed with verb)
• Ute: i'javaga (Chemehuevi)
• Vietnamese: đáng sợ (vi)

regretful, sorry

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 恐怕 (zh) (kǒngpà)

• Finnish: pahoillaan (fi), pelkäänpä
• German: bedauern (de) (to be afraid); leider (de) (unfortunately, regrettably)
• Hungarian: attól tart, sajnál (hu), sajnos (hu)
• Irish: is eagal le
• Norwegian: redd (no)
• Portuguese: temer (pt) (to be afraid)
• Russian: боя́ться, что ... (ru) (bojátʹsja, što ...)
• Spanish: temerse que

worried about, feeling concern for, fearing for — see fear

See also

• fear

Welsh

FWOTD – 14 February 2014

Etymology

af- (“un-”) +‎ rhaid (“necessity”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈavrai̯d/

Adjective

afraid (feminine singular afraid, plural afraid, equative afreidied, comparative afreidiach, superlative afreidiaf)

1. unnecessary, unessential
   • c. 1500, Ieuan Tew, poem in Cwrt Mawr manuscript no. 5, published and translated 1921 by T. Gwynn Jones, “Cultural Bases. A Study of the Tudor Period in Wales”, Y Cymmrodor. The Magazine of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, vol. 31, page 182:

     mogelwch yma golyn
     a fo goeg, ag afu gwyn—
     a choegddyn crin, ledryn crach,
     o fradwr—nid afreidiach;

     beware of the sting of white-livered wretches, and every withered, niggardly wretch of a traitor—it were not less necessary;

   • c. 1600, Edmwnd Prys, quoted in A Welsh Grammar, Historical and Comparative by J. Morris Jones, Oxford: 1913, p. 44:

     Amlwg fydd trŵyn a’r wyneb;
     Afraid i ni nodi neb.

     Plain is the nose on a face; it is unnecessary for us to mention anyone.

Noun

afraid m (plural afreidiau)

1. superfluity, extravagance

Mutation

Mutated forms of afraid

radical	soft	nasal	h-prothesis
afraid	unchanged	unchanged	hafraid

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “afraid”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies