dread
noun/dred/
/dred/
- [uncountable, countable, usually singular] a feeling of great fear about something that might or will happen in the future; a thing that causes this feeling
- The prospect of growing old fills me with dread.
- She has an irrational dread of hospitals.
- The committee members live in dread of (= are always worried about) anything that may cause a scandal.
- My greatest dread is that my parents will find out.
Extra ExamplesTopics Feelingsc1- the dread she felt at the thought of meeting him again
- He lived in constant dread that one day he might be found out.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- great
- mortal
- existential
- …
- feel
- have
- live in
- …
- in dread of
- dread of
- a feeling of dread
- a sense of dread
Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
- dreads[plural] (informal) dreadlocks (= hair that is twisted into long thick pieces that hang down from the head, worn especially by Rastafarians)
Word OriginOld English ādrǣdan, ondrǣdan, of West Germanic origin; related to Old High German intrātan.
Check pronunciation:
dread