fear
noun [ C or U ] uk/fɪər/ us/fɪr/
B1 害怕，惧怕;担忧
an unpleasant emotion or thought that you have when you are frightened or worried by something dangerous, painful, or bad that is happening or might happen
Trembling with fear, she handed over the money to the gunman. 她吓得发抖，战战兢兢地把钱递给了持枪歹徒。
Even when the waves grew big, the boy showed no (signs of) fear. 即使浪再大，这个男孩也毫无惧色。
I have a fear of heights. 我有恐高症。
The low profit figures simply confirmed my worst fears. 这么低的利润额完全证实了我最担心的事。
[ + that ] There are fears that the disease will spread to other countries. 有人担心这种疾病会传播到其他国家。
be in fear of your life (also mainly US be in fear for your life) 为生命安全担忧
to be frightened that you might be killed
Lakisha sat inside, in fear of her life, until the police came. 拉基莎担心自己的安全，就坐在里面直到警察到来。
He was bleeding so much, he was in fear of his life.
She told the operator she was in fear for her life.
We simply want to live somewhere we are not constantly in fear of our lives.
He argued that gun use is reasonable if you are in fear of your life.
be no fear of something informal 不可能发生
to be no possibility that a particular thing will happen
Greta knows the city well, so there's no fear of us getting lost (= we will not get lost). 格蕾塔很熟悉这座城市，所以我们不可能迷路。
There were strict hygiene rules in place so that there was no fear of contamination.
You can be sure that there is no fear of sentimentality in his work.
There's no fear of judgment here - you can ask whatever questions you like.
The government has ordered millions of doses of the vaccine, so there is no fear of shortages this year.
for fear that/of somethingC2 生怕，以免
because you are worried that a particular thing might happen
They wouldn't let their cat outside for fear that it would get run over. 他们不让猫到室外去，生怕它被车撞到。
I didn't want to move for fear of waking her up. 我当时不想动，生怕把她弄醒了。
They searched his computer for fear that he had been blackmailed.
We couldn't move for fear of triggering an avalanche.
Many parents pay for tutoring they can't afford, for fear that if they don't, their children will be left behind.
- More examples
- Then he turned towards me and I was suddenly gripped by fear.
- I finally mastered my fear of flying.
- I was trembling with fear.
- You could tell she wasn't lying from the fear in her voice.
- Ten years later her worst fears were realized.
Idioms
have fears for someone/somethingidiom 为…担心;为…忧虑
to be worried about someone or something
The climbers are a day late returning from the mountain and we are beginning to have fears for their safety. 已经晚了一天，登山的人还没有返回，我们开始担心他们的安全。
no fear!idiom UK informal 决不！当然不！
certainly not
"Are you coming to the concert?" "No fear!" “你会来听音乐会吗？”“当然不！”
put the fear of God into youidiom 恐吓
to frighten you a lot
without fear or favouridiom 公正地，不偏不倚
in an equal and fair way
The appointments are made without fear or favour. 各项任命都十分公正。
fear
verb uk/fɪər/ us/fɪr/
B2 [ T; not continuous ]害怕，畏惧，惧怕
to be frightened of something or someone unpleasant
Most older employees fear unemployment. 大多数上了年纪的雇员害怕失业。
What do you fear most? 你最怕什么？
B2 [ T; not continuous ] formal担心;担忧
to be worried or frightened that something bad might happen or might have happened
[ + (that) ] Police fear (that) the couple may have drowned. 警方担心这对夫妇可能已溺水身亡。
formal It is feared (that) as many as two hundred passengers may have died in the crash. 人们担心可能有多达两百名乘客在这次空难中丧生。
We huddled together, fearing we might be killed. 我们挤作一团，担心会被杀掉。
[ + to infinitive ] Fearing to go herself, she sent her son to find out the news. 她自己不敢去，就派了儿子去探查消息。
I fear formal mainly UK （用于告知坏消息）恐怕
used to give someone news of something bad that has happened or might happen
[ + (that) ] I fear (that) she's already left. 恐怕她已经离开了。
Is he very angry? I fear we are about to find out.
Can these novels be read purely for pleasure? The answer, I fear, is no.
These people, I fear, are likely to lose their life savings.
One could petition the courts, but I fear it would be a waste of one's time.
- More examples
- He reassured people that law-abiding citizens would have nothing to fear from the enquiries.
- It was feared that the break-up of the oil tanker would result in further pollution.
- The police feared that the crowd were becoming disorderly and so they moved in with horses.
- The committee kept the results of the survey to itself, fearing a bad public reaction.
- The government fears that talking to terrorists might legitimize their violent actions.
Idiom
never fearidiom old use or humorous (also fear not) 别担心，别怕
do not worry
Never fear, I'll take good care of him. 别担心，我会好好照顾他的。
Phrasal verb
fear for someone/something 为…担心;为…忧虑
to be worried about something, or to be worried that someone is in danger
Her parents fear for her safety. 父母担心她的安全。