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dread

verb
/dɹɛd/

Etymology

From Middle English dreden, from Old English drǣdan (“to fear, dread”), aphetic form of ondrǣdan (“to fear, dread”), from Proto-West Germanic *andarādan, equivalent to Old English and- + rǣdan (whence read); corresponding to an aphesis of earlier adread. Akin to Old Saxon antdrādan, andrādan (“to fear, dread”), Old High German intrātan (“to fear”), Middle High German entrāten (“to fear, dread, frighten”).

  1. inherited from *andarādan✻
  2. inherited from drǣdan — “to fear, dread”
  3. inherited from dreden

Definitions

  1. To fear greatly.

  2. To anticipate with fear.

    • I'm dreading getting the results of the test, as it could decide my whole life.
    • Day by day, hole by hole our bearing reins were shortened, and instead of looking forward with pleasure to having my harness put on as I used to do, I began to dread it.

  3. To be in dread, or great fear.

    • Dread not, neither be afraid of them.
  4. ›+ 11 more definitions

    1. To style (the hair) into dreadlocks.

    2. Great fear in view of impending evil

      Great fear in view of impending evil; fearful apprehension of danger; anticipatory terror.

      • My visit to the doctor is filling me with dread.
      • the secret dread of divine displeasure
      • the dread of something after death

    3. Reverential or respectful fear

      Reverential or respectful fear; awe.

      • The fear of you, and the dread of you, shall be upon every beast of the earth.
      • His sceptre shows the force of temporal power, / The attribute to awe and majesty, / Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings.

    4. Somebody or something dreaded.

    5. A person highly revered.

      • Una, his dear dread

    6. Fury

      Fury; dreadfulness.

      • The mightie ones, affrayd of every chaunges dread

    7. A Rastafarian.

    8. Clipping of dreadlock.

      • Jesus Christ had dreads / So shake 'em / I ain't got none / But I'm planning on growing some.

    9. Clipping of dreadnought.

      • The Royal Navy sent six dreads and four BCs to intercept the German raiding force.

    10. Terrible

      Terrible; greatly feared; dreaded.

      • With cat-like tread / Upon our prey we steal / In silence dread / Our cautious way we feel
      • I even remember thinking that no human being would go down that dread path again.
      • 1980, Donald Fagen; Walter Becker (lyrics and music), "Glamour Profession" in Gaucho, track 3: "Jack with his radar / Stalking the dread moray eel"

    11. Awe-inspiring

      Awe-inspiring; held in fearful awe.

      • The acts made in the first Parliament of our most high and dread soveraigne Charles [I], by the grace of God, King of Great Britaine, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, &c. […] [book title]

The neighborhood

Derived

a burnt child dreads the fire, the burnt child dreads the fire, dreadable, dreadingly, dreadworthy, fordread, indread, undreading, dreadly, misdread, dreaden, dread fascination, dreadful, dreadless, dreadmill, dreadsome, dready, rent-a-dread, undread, dreadness

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at dread. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01dread02greatly03nobly04noble05dubious06suspicion07doubt

A definitional loop anchored at dread. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

7 hops · closes at dread

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA