dread
Americanverb (used with object)
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to fear greatly; be in extreme apprehension of.
to dread death.
- Antonyms:
- welcome
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to be reluctant to do, meet, or experience.
I dread going to big parties.
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Archaic. to hold in respectful awe.
verb (used without object)
noun
-
terror or apprehension as to something in the future; great fear.
-
a person or thing dreaded.
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Informal. dreads, dreadlocks.
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Informal. a person who wears dreadlocks.
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Archaic. deep awe or reverence.
verb
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to anticipate with apprehension or terror
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to fear greatly
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archaic to be in awe of
noun
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great fear; horror
-
an object of terror
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slang a Rastafarian
-
archaic deep reverence
adjective
Related Words
See fear.
Other Word Forms
- dreadable adjective
- dreadness noun
- predread noun
- undreaded adjective
- undreading adjective
Etymology
Origin of dread
First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English dreden (verb), Old English drǣdan, aphetic variant of adrǣdan, ondrǣdan; cognate with Old High German intrātan “to fear”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“I dread the snow,” a friend recently told me, because the cold temperatures mean they’ll have to turn up the heat for weeks, meaning a surge in their heating bill.
From MarketWatch
"It was exhausting for us, so I dread to think how poor Marigold felt."
From BBC
He remembers seeing officers he'd worked with on previous searches, and the competing feels of relief - that they were safe - and dread.
From BBC
Nobody has responded with the dreaded “it isn’t my turn.”
If there was one thing I dreaded, it was having to stay in my room.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
