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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
afraid
adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
so
▪ I was so afraid you'd changed.
So many producers are so afraid to take on a new project like that.
▪ Very often people get so afraid of these consequences that they develop a very serious fear of their own fear response.
▪ I remember my father standing over her sickbed, wringing his hands, so afraid of losing another child.
▪ Oh, Jacques, now that I have told you everything, I am so afraid.
▪ She had been so afraid of his condition when it came down to a matter of intimacy.
▪ People are so afraid of dying that they've now decided that only those with Aids will die.
▪ Al Hamilton was so afraid to make his first presentations that he literally shook before they began.
too
▪ The waiters are too afraid to rush forward.
▪ I had always been too afraid of what other people would think.
▪ Three, she found the body and covered it up, but was too afraid to admit what she had done.
▪ Behind those hard faces and vacant eyes are injured people who have been too afraid and too desperate too long.
▪ The racking sobs didn't last long; she was too afraid that fitzAlan would recover and come after her.
▪ But now he was too afraid to stay with them.
Too many parents have been too afraid ever to acknowledge the real state of our affairs to their children.
▪ Most women are basically too afraid to leave.
very
▪ But my uncle was very afraid.
▪ He was very afraid of certain boys.
▪ We were very afraid, and we began to run back to our dressing-room.
▪ I get very afraid and I feel the presence of evil around me, like something is trying to hurt me.
▪ Raoul was very afraid for her.
▪ She looked very small and very afraid.
▪ I didn't know, but I was very afraid.
▪ Sarah was white-faced and very afraid.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
afraid/frightened/scared etc of your own shadow
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Billy was afraid his aunt would punish him if he owned up.
▪ Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you.
▪ He had a terrible temper and everyone was afraid of him.
▪ I could see she was afraid.
▪ I didn't tell anyone, because I was afraid of being punished.
▪ It's amazing how many people are afraid of spiders.
▪ She was afraid to speak up in front of all these important people.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ For centuries, no one had come along who could make him afraid.
▪ He was not afraid to throw less-touted Charlie Garner into the running-back mix.
▪ I am afraid I don't know his second name, but I have been his friend since he was a boy.
▪ I am afraid there will be a good deal of suffering among the poor this winter.
▪ I have learned not to be afraid of fire.
▪ I was afraid to turn around and look at all the others being kept out.
▪ Now that he could do nothing, he felt afraid.
▪ We were afraid that this proud and energetic man might be forced to lie there paralyzed and helpless until his death.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Afraid

Afraid \A*fraid"\, p. a. [OE. afrayed, affraide, p. p. of afraien to affray. See Affray, and cf. Afeard.] Impressed with fear or apprehension; in fear; apprehensive. [Afraid comes after the noun it limits.] ``Back they recoiled, afraid.''
--Milton.

Note: This word expresses a less degree of fear than terrified or frightened. It is followed by of before the object of fear, or by the infinitive, or by a dependent clause; as, to be afraid of death. ``I am afraid to die.'' ``I am afraid he will chastise me.'' ``Be not afraid that I your hand should take.''
--Shak. I am afraid is sometimes used colloquially to soften a statement; as, I am afraid I can not help you in this matter.

Syn: Fearful; timid; timorous; alarmed; anxious.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
afraid

early 14c., originally past participle of verb afray "frighten," from Anglo-French afrayer, Old French esfreer "to worry, concern, trouble, disturb" (see affray (n.)). A rare case of an English adjective that never stands before a noun. Because it was used in A.V. Bible, it acquired independent standing and thrived while affray faded, and it chased off the once more common afeared. Sense in I'm afraid "I regret to say, I suspect" (without implication of fear) is first recorded 1590s.Her blue affrayed eyes wide open shone [Keats, "The Eve of St. Agnes," 1820]

Wiktionary
afraid

a. 1 (context usually used predicative adjective predicatively, not attributive adjective attributively English) Impressed with fear or apprehension; in fear. 2 (context colloquial English) regretful, sorry

WordNet
afraid
  1. adj. filled with fear or apprehension; "afraid even to turn his head"; "suddenly looked afraid"; "afraid for his life"; "afraid of snakes"; "afraid to ask questions" [syn: afraid(p)] [ant: unafraid(p)]

  2. filled with regret or concern; used often to soften an unpleasant statement; "I'm afraid I won't be able to come"; "he was afraid he would have to let her go"; "I'm afraid you're wrong"

  3. feeling worry or concern or insecurity; "She was afraid that I might be embarrassed"; "terribly afraid of offending someone"; "I am afraid we have witnessed only the first phase of the conflict"

  4. having feelings of aversion or unwillingness; "afraid of hard work"; "affaid to show emotion"

Wikipedia
Afraid (Mötley Crüe song)

"Afraid" is a song by the American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, released on their 1997 album Generation Swine. A two-track pig promo picture CD includes the 3:56 Swine Mix and 4:10 Rave Mix. Written by bassist Nikki Sixx, the lyrics were inspired by the early stages of his relationship with Donna D'Errico, when he felt she was running away from him from fear of getting too close. The song charted at number 10 on the Mainstream rock charts. This is the first single featuring Vince Neil on lead vocals since their cover of Anarchy in the U.K. back in 1991.

Afraid

To be afraid is to have the emotional response of fear to threats or danger.

Afraid may also refer to:

  • "Afraid" (Mötley Crüe song), 1997
  • "Afraid" (The Neighbourhood song), 2013
  • "Afraid" (David Bowie song), 2002
  • "Afraid", a song by Vanessa Hudgens, from her 2006 debut album, V
  • "Afraid", a song by Nelly Furtado, from her 2006 album Loose
  • "Afraid", a song by Medina, from her 2013 album re-release Forever
  • "Afraid", a song by Nico, from the 1970 album Desertshore
Afraid (The Neighbourhood song)

"Afraid" is a song by American rock group The Neighbourhood. The song was written by group members Jesse Rutherford, Zach Abels and Jeremy Freedman, and was produced by Justyn Pilbrow and Emile Haynie. It serves as the second single to their debut studio album, I Love You, which was released on April 19, 2013 via Columbia Records.

The lyrics of "Afraid" can be interpreted in many ways, but it mainly deals with anxiety and depression, hence the lyrics in the hook/chorus "When I wake up, I'm afraid / Somebody else might take my place". The song has been praised by Billboard for its "edgy, subtle hooks". The song was featured in an episode of the television show " The Vampire Diaries".

Usage examples of "afraid".

She continued to smile at him, and despite his unkempt appearance and the prison garb that marked him an absconder, she showed no sign of being afraid of him, Michael realized, with astonishment.

At her house I made the acquaintance of several gamblers, and of three or four frauleins who, without any dread of the Commissaries of Chastity, were devoted to the worship of Venus, and were so kindly disposed that they were not afraid of lowering their nobility by accepting some reward for their kindness--a circumstance which proved to me that the Commissaries were in the habit of troubling only the girls who did not frequent good houses.

She ached to be able to give way to her emotions, to turn to Robert and to scream at him that he was the reason she had devoted herself to her business, that it was because of him that she was too afraid to let herself love again.

He had said that the first time, she remembered achingly, and even though she had wanted him she had still been a little afraid.

Seven or eight days afterwards, Paterno told me that the actress had related the affair to him exactly in the same words which I had used, and she had added that, if I had ceased my visits, it was only because I was afraid of her taking me at my word in case I should renew my proposal.

Toward the last I became acutely afraid of West, for he began to look at me that way.

I am so confident of my own innocence, and have such a perfect reliance upon the honour of your lordships, that I am not afraid to submit to judgment upon the evidence which has been adduced on the part of the prosecution.

Various worse than useless devices are advertised by quacks, who, as a class, are afraid to undertake surgical treatment for the cure of varicocele.

The doctor did not move it, as Ager had been afraid he would do, but he retreated and talked to the other two again.

Everyone who lives in space is afraid of decompression, which is why many become agoraphobic planetside.

I guess it was alright that he looked this good, but for a moment when I looked into that plump, smiling face, I was afraid.

I deplore to deprive these gentlemen of the entertainment to which they were looking forward, but unless you should prove of an excessive amiability I am afraid they must suffer with me the consequences of my error.

If Amir had come once and held her in his arms, stroked her head, and told her not to be afraid, she would have been eternally grateful.

You have not been afraid to ignite my amorous fury, how can you expect me to believe you now, when you pretend to fear it, and when I am only asking you to let me touch a thing, which, if it be as you say, will only disgust me?

I was on thorns, and I tried everything to avoid that subject, and to lead the conversation into a different channel, for the amorous particulars, on which she was dwelling with apparent delight, vexed me greatly, and spite causing coldness, I was afraid of not playing my part very warmly in the amorous contest which was at hand.