Noun

Singular fear

Plural countable and uncountable; plural fears

fear (countable and uncountable; plural fears)

1. (uncountable) A strong, uncontrollable, unpleasant emotion caused by actual or perceived danger or threat.

   He was struck by fear on seeing the snake.

2. (countable) A phobia, a sense of fear induced by something or someone.

   Not everybody has the same fears.

   I have a fear of ants.

3. (uncountable) Extreme veneration or awe, as toward a supreme being or deity.

Synonyms

• (uncountable: unpleasant emotion caused by actual or perceived danger): dread, terror
• (countable: sense of fear induced by something or someone): dread, phobia
• (extreme veneration): awe, reverence, veneration
• See also Wikisaurus:fear

Derived terms

• affear
• fearful
• fearless
• fearmonger
• fearnaught
• fearsome

Fear is an emotional response to a threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger. Some psychologists such as John B. Watson, Robert Plutchik, and Paul Ekman have suggested that fear is one of a small set of basic or innate emotions. This set also includes such emotions as joy, sadness, and anger. Fear should be distinguished from the related emotional state of anxiety, which typically occurs without any external threat. Additionally, fear is related to the specific behaviors of escape and avoidance, whereas anxiety is the result of threats which are perceived to be uncontrollable or unavoidable. Worth noting is that fear always relates to future events, such as worsening of a situation, or continuation of a situation that is unacceptable.

Fear is a basic emotional sensation and response system ("feeling") initiated by an aversion to some perceived risk or threat.

Sourced

• Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear.
  • Book of Job, 41:33

• Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
  • Psalms, 23:4

• The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
  • Psalms, 27:1

• God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.
  • Psalms, 46:1-2

• As the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
  • Psalms, 103:11

• The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
  • Psalms, 111:10

• Be not afraid of sudden fear.
  • Book of Proverbs, 3:25

• Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
  • Ecclesiastes, 12:13

• Quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentis.
  • Translation: Whatever it is, I fear Greeks even when they bring gifts.
  • Virgil, The Aeneid, Bk. II, l. 49

• Oderint dum metuant.
  • Translation: Let them hate, so long as they fear.
  • Lucius Accius, fragment

From Wikiquote under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Wed Oct 7 12:16:44 2009