Dread — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

fearful expectation or anticipation

be afraid or scared of; be frightened of

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/ᵻlˈuːənt/

🇬🇧British English

/dɹˈɛd/

🇮🇳Indian English

/dɹˈɛd/

1 syllable Say it as /ᵻlˈuːənt/.

Examples

the student looked around the examination room with apprehension
I fear the winters in Moscow
We should not fear the Communists!

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

apprehension dire horrendous terrible frightening fearsome fear dreaded dreadful fearful horrific awful apprehensiveness direful

Parts of Speech

noun	fearful expectation or anticipation “the student looked around the examination room with apprehension”
verb	be afraid or scared of; be frightened of “I fear the winters in Moscow”
adjective	causing fear or dread or terror “the awful war”

Word Forms

apprehend	verb	anticipate with dread or anxiety
apprehensive	adjective	mentally upset over possible misfortune or danger etc
dread	adjective	causing fear or dread or terror
dread	verb	be afraid or scared of; be frightened of
fear	noun	an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight)
dread	noun	fearful expectation or anticipation
awfulness	noun	a quality of extreme unpleasantness
terribleness	noun	a quality of extreme unpleasantness

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Furcht

ängstliche Erwartung oder Vorfreude

🇫🇷French

redouter

attente ou anticipation effrayante

🇪🇸Spanish

miedo

expectativa o anticipación temerosa

🇮🇹Italian

paura

aspettativa o anticipazione timorosa

🇳🇱Dutch

draad

angstige verwachting of anticipatie

🇵🇹Portuguese

temor

expectativa ou antecipação temerosa

🇷🇺Russian

страх

боязливое ожидание или предвкушение

India

🇮🇳Hindi

डर लगना

भयभीत करने वाली अपेक्षा या प्रत्याशा

🇧🇩Bengali

ভয়

ভয়ঙ্কর প্রত্যাশা বা প্রত্যাশা

🇮🇳Tamil

பயம்

பயமுறுத்தும் எதிர்பார்ப்பு அல்லது எதிர்பார்ப்பு

🇮🇳Telugu

భయం

భయంకరమైన నిరీక్షణ లేదా నిరీక్షణ

🇮🇳Marathi

भीती

भीतीदायक अपेक्षा किंवा अपेक्षा

🇮🇳Gujarati

ડર

ભયજનક અપેક્ષા અથવા અપેક્ષા

🇮🇳Kannada

ಭಯ

ಭಯದ ನಿರೀಕ್ಷೆ ಅಥವಾ ನಿರೀಕ್ಷೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

ഭയം

ഭയപ്പെടുത്തുന്ന പ്രതീക്ഷ അല്ലെങ്കിൽ പ്രതീക്ഷ

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਡਰ

ਡਰਾਉਣੀ ਉਮੀਦ ਜਾਂ ਉਮੀਦ

🇵🇰Urdu

خوف

خوفناک توقع یا توقع

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

恐惧

恐惧的期望或期待

🇯🇵Japanese

恐怖

恐ろしい期待や予想

🇰🇷Korean

공포

두려운 기대 또는 기대

🇻🇳Vietnamese

sợ hãi

sự mong đợi hoặc dự đoán đáng sợ

🇹🇭Thai

กลัว

ความคาดหวังหรือความคาดหวังที่น่ากลัว

🇮🇩Indonesian

rasa takut

harapan atau antisipasi yang menakutkan

🇵🇭Filipino

pangamba

nakakatakot na inaasahan o pag-asa

🇲🇾Malay

ketakutan

jangkaan atau jangkaan yang menakutkan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

الرهبة

توقع مخيف أو ترقب

🇮🇷Persian

ترس

انتظار یا انتظار ترسناک

🇹🇷Turkish

korku

korkulu beklenti veya beklenti

🇮🇱Hebrew

אֵימָה

ציפייה או ציפייה מפחידה

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'dread'?

The primary meaning of 'dread' is 'fearful expectation or anticipation'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'dread' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'dread' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'dread' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'dread' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'dread' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'dread' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'dread' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'dread' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'dread' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'dread' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted