Meaning & use
fearfulness
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Meaning
noununcountable
The state or quality of being afraid or anxious.
Grammar: Uncountable; used with a singular verb: Fearfulness is common. No plural form.
Patterns
- fearfulness of something
- fearfulness about something
Her fearfulness of dogs made walks in the park difficult.
The fearfulness in his voice was obvious.
He tried to hide his fearfulness about the upcoming exam.
Common combinations
- deep fearfulness
- A deep fearfulness settled over the village after the attack.
- fearfulness of
- His fearfulness of failure stopped him from trying.
- overcome fearfulness
- Therapy helped her overcome her fearfulness.
- sense of fearfulness
- There was a sense of fearfulness in the room.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fear
- Fear is the more common and direct word for the emotion; fearfulness emphasizes the ongoing state or tendency.
- anxiety
- Anxiety often implies worry about future events; fearfulness is more about being easily frightened.
- timidity
- Timidity suggests a lack of confidence; fearfulness is specifically about fear.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: fearfulness or fearlessness?
fearfulness vs fearlessness
Fearlessness is the opposite: the state of not being afraid. Fearfulness means being afraid.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'fearfulness' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Fearfulness' is an uncountable noun, so it cannot be plural (option 1) or used as an adjective (option 2) or verb (option 3). Option 2 correctly uses it as a noun with 'of'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fearfulness”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.