1. Synonyms: Fear, fright, dread, terror, horror, panic, alarm, dismay, consternation, trepidation
These nouns denote the agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger.
- Fear is the most general term: "Fear is the parent of cruelty" J.A. Froude.
- Fright is sudden, usually momentary, great fear: In my fright, I forgot to lock the door.
- Dread is strong fear, especially of what one is powerless to avoid: His dread of strangers kept him from socializing.
- Terror is intense, overpowering fear: "And now at the dead hour of the night, amid the dreadful silence of that old house, so strange a noise as this excited me to uncontrollable terror" Edgar Allan Poe.
- Horror is a combination of fear and aversion or repugnance: Murder arouses widespread horror.
- Panic is sudden frantic fear, often groundless: The fire caused a panic among the horses.
- Alarm is fright aroused by the first realization of danger: I watched with alarm as the sky darkened.
- Dismay robs one of courage or the power to act effectively: The rumor of war caused universal dismay.
- Consternation is often paralyzing, characterized by confusion and helplessness: Consternation gripped the city as the invaders approached.
- Trepidation is dread characteristically marked by trembling or hesitancy: "They were ... full of trepidation about things that were never likely to happen" John Morley.
2. Synonyms: Frighten, scare, alarm, terrify, terrorize, startle, panic
These verbs mean to cause a person to experience fear.
- Frighten and the less formal scare are the most widely applicable: "The Count's mysterious warning frightened me at the time" Bram Stoker. The angry dog scared the small child.
- Alarm implies the often sudden onset of apprehension: Her sudden weight loss alarmed her doctor.
- Terrify implies overwhelming, often paralyzing fear: "It is the coming of death that terrifies me" Oscar Wilde.
- Terrorize implies intimidation and sometimes suggests deliberate coercion: "The decent citizen was terrorized into paying public blackmail" Arthur Conan Doyle.
- Startle suggests a momentary shock that may cause a sudden, involuntary movement of the body: The clap of thunder startled us.
- Panic implies sudden frantic fear that often impairs self-control and rationality: The realistic radio drama panicked the listeners who tuned in after it had begun.
3. Synonyms: Dismay, appall, daunt, horrify, shake
These verbs mean to deprive a person of courage or the power to act as a result of fear or anxiety.
- Dismay is the least specific: Plummeting stock prices dismayed speculators.
- Appall implies a sense of helplessness caused by an awareness of the enormity of something: "for as this appalling ocean surrounds the verdant land" Herman Melville.
- Daunt suggests an abatement of courage: "captains courageous, whom death could not daunt" Anonymous ballad.
- Horrify implies dread, shock, or revulsion: The citizens were horrified by the possibility of nuclear war.
- To shake is to dismay profoundly: "A little swift brutality shook him to the very soul"John Galsworthy. (See Also Synonyms at fear.)
4. Synonyms: Embarrass, abash, chagrin, discomfit, disconcert, faze, rattle(1)
These verbs mean to cause someone to feel self-conscious and uneasy:
- were embarrassed by their child's tantrum;
- felt abashed at the extravagant praise;
- will be chagrined if my confident prediction fails;
- was discomfited by the sudden personal question;
- is disconcerted by sarcastic remarks;
- refuses to be fazed by your objections;
- isn't easily rattled before an audience.
5. Synonyms: Puzzle, perplex, mystify, bewilder, confound
These verbs mean to cause bafflement or confusion.
- Puzzle suggests difficulty in solving or interpreting something: "The poor creature puzzled me once . . . by a question merely natural and innocent" Daniel Defoe.
- Perplex stresses uncertainty or anxiety, as over reaching an understanding or finding a solution: a dilemma that perplexed the committee.
- Mystify implies defying comprehension by obscuring facts: symbolism that mystifies me.
- Bewilder emphasizes extreme mental confusion: "The old know what they want; the young are sad and bewildered" Logan Pearsall Smith.
- To confound is to confuse and astonish: God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise I Corinthians 1:27.
자료: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language,
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