fear – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of fear

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to fear
Participle: feared
Gerund: fearing

Cognates

-

Indicative

Present

Ifear
youfear
he;she;itfears
wefear
youfear
theyfear

Perfect

Ihave feared
youhave feared
he;she;ithas feared
wehave feared
youhave feared
theyhave feared

Past

Ifeared
youfeared
he;she;itfeared
wefeared
youfeared
theyfeared

Pluperfect

Ihad feared
youhad feared
he;she;ithad feared
wehad feared
youhad feared
theyhad feared

Future

Iwill fear
youwill fear
he;she;itwill fear
wewill fear
youwill fear
theywill fear

Future Perfect

Iwill have feared
youwill have feared
he;she;itwill have feared
wewill have feared
youwill have feared
theywill have feared

Subjunctive

Present

Ifear
youfear
he;she;itfear
wefear
youfear
theyfear

Perfect

Ihave feared
youhave feared
he;she;ithave feared
wehave feared
youhave feared
theyhave feared

Imperfect

Ifeared
youfeared
he;she;itfeared
wefeared
youfeared
theyfeared

Pluperfect

Ihad feared
youhad feared
he;she;ithad feared
wehad feared
youhad feared
theyhad feared

Conditional

Present

Iwould fear
youwould fear
he;she;itwould fear
wewould fear
youwould fear
theywould fear

Perfect

Iwould have feared
youwould have feared
he;she;itwould have feared
wewould have feared
youwould have feared
theywould have feared

Imperative

youfear
weLet's fear
youfear

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

Iam fearing
youare fearing
he;she;itis fearing
weare fearing
youare fearing
theyare fearing

Perfect

Ihave been fearing
youhave been fearing
he;she;ithas been fearing
wehave been fearing
youhave been fearing
theyhave been fearing

Past

Iwas fearing
youwere fearing
he;she;itwas fearing
wewere fearing
youwere fearing
theywere fearing

Pluperfect

Ihad been fearing
youhad been fearing
he;she;ithad been fearing
wehad been fearing
youhad been fearing
theyhad been fearing

Future

Iwill be fearing
youwill be fearing
he;she;itwill be fearing
wewill be fearing
youwill be fearing
theywill be fearing

Future Perfect

Iwill have been fearing
youwill have been fearing
he;she;itwill have been fearing
wewill have been fearing
youwill have been fearing
theywill have been fearing

Conditional

Present

Iwould be fearing
youwould be fearing
he;she;itwould be fearing
wewould be fearing
youwould be fearing
theywould be fearing

Perfect

Iwould have been fearing
youwould have been fearing
he;she;itwould have been fearing
wewould have been fearing
youwould have been fearing
theywould have been fearing

Other

Verbs conjugated like 'fear'

abandon, abduct, abear, aberr, abject, abord, abort, abound, abraid, abray, abrook, abscind, abscond, absist, absorb, abstain, abstract, accend, accent, accept, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)

Verbs similar to 'fear'

afear, bear, dear, ear, feak, feal, feare, feat, flear, gear,

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

feel fear about (something)
afraid, frightened, scared, terrorise, terrorize
venerate; to feel awe towards
revere, venerate
dread
misdoubt, apprehend, falter
revere
reverence, venerate
cower
shrink, quail, cringe, tremble, quake, blanch, start

Antonyms

dread
delight, courage, boldness, bravery

Additional Information

Phrasal Verbs

Etymology

1. O.E. fær "danger, peril," from P.Gmc. *færa (cf. O.S. far "ambush," O.N. far "harm, distress, deception," Ger. Gefahr "danger"), from PIE base *per- "to try, risk, come over, go through" (perhaps connected with Gk. peira "trial, attempt, experience," L. periculum "trial, risk, danger"). Sense of "uneasiness caused by possible danger" developed c.1175. The v. is from O.E. færan "terrify, frighten," originally transitive (sense preserved in archaic I fear me). Sense of "feel fear" is 1393. O.E. words for "fear" as we now use it were ege, fyrhto; as a verb, ondrædan. Fearsome is attested from 1768.
2. From Middle English feer, fere, fer (“fear”), from Old English fǣr, ġefǣr (“calamity, sudden danger, peril, sudden attack, terrible sight”), from Proto-Germanic *fērō, *fērą (“danger”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to go through, carry forth, try”). Cognate with Dutch gevaar (“danger, risk, peril”), German Gefahr (“danger, hazard, risk”), Danish fare (“danger, hazard, risk”), Faroese and Icelandic fár (“accident, anger, calamity”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk fare (“danger”), Swedish fara (“danger, risk, peril”), Latin perīculum (“danger, risk, trial”), Ancient Greek πεῖρα (peîra, “trial, experiment”), Armenian փորձ (pʻorj, “attempt”). Doublet of peril.
3. The verb is from Middle English feren, from Old English fǣran (“to frighten, raven”), from the noun. Cognate with the archaic Dutch verb varen (“to fear, to cause fear”). See: Danish 'fare', Swedish 'fara', Armenian 'փորձ', Middle English 'feren'.

Sample Sentences

  • [...] knew she came from Hanover; she even endured her caresses, but would leave her with indifference at the slightest signal. The distress of the mother was now painful to behold; for, although she had feared that she should not be recognised, the painful reality of being treated with cold indifference by a darling child, was too much for woman 's nature to bear. (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] have come desp’t hard on me, as has known him from a baby; but I 've seen Mas’r, and I begin ter feel sort o ’ reconciled to the Lord's will now. Mas’r couldn't help hisself; he did right, but I 'm feared things will be kinder goin ’ to rack, when I 'm gone Mas’r can't be spected to be a pryin ’ round everywhar, as I 've done, a keepin ’ up all the ends. The boys all means well, but they ’ s powerful [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] Bird; “ but we will try to think what can be done for you. Here, Dinah, make her up a bed in your own room, close by the kitchen, and I'll think what to do for her in the morning. Meanwhile, never fear, poor woman; put your trust in God; he will protect you. ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [Picture: The Solitary Prisoner] When he is in his cell by day, he fears the little yard without. When he is in the yard, he dreads to re-enter the cell. When night comes, there stands the phantom in the corner. If he have the courage to stand in its place, and drive [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [ Illustration: THE AUCTION SALE. ] ~~~ “ Don't be feard, Aunt Hagar, ” said the oldest of the men, “ I spoke to Mas’r Thomas ’ bout it, and he thought he might manage to sell you in a lot both together. ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • One night, I ordered a bottle of mulled wine at an hotel where I was staying, and waited a long time for it; at length it was put upon the table with an apology from the landlord that he feared it was n't ‘fixed properly. ’ And I recollect once, at a stage-coach dinner, overhearing a very stern gentleman demand of a waiter who presented him with a plate of underdone roast-beef, ‘whether he [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] months: and was now returning. He had been chiefly at Washington on some negotiations pending between his Tribe and the Government: which were not settled yet (he said in a melancholy way ), and he feared never would be: for what could a few poor Indians do, against such well-skilled men of business as the whites ? He had no love for Washington; tired of towns and cities very soon; and longed for [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] that night as something it was not worth while to do, so near the shore, but went nevertheless, and slept soundly; and how to be so near our journey 's end, was like a pleasant dream, from which one feared to wake. (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] widened and deepened by any means: the rather, as there are, beyond dispute, among these slave-owners, many kind masters who are tender in the exercise of their unnatural power. Still, it is to be feared that this injustice is inseparable from the state of things with which humanity and truth are called upon to deal. Slavery is not a whit the more endurable because some hearts are to be found which [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • “ Don't fear, Chloe; I'll take care of the honor of the family, ” said Mrs. Shelby, smiling. “ But when do you expect to go ? ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • Thomas! Your Majesty does my house more honour than I fear my household will bear. (A Man for All Seasons)
  • than I fear my household will bear. No ceremony, Thomas, no ceremony! A passing fancy. I happened to be on the river ! (A Man for All Seasons)