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adj. 1. Filled with fear; frightened: afraid of ghosts; afraid to die; afraid for his life. 2. Having feelings of aversion or unwillingness in regard to something: not afraid of hard work; afraid to show emotion. 3. Filled with regret or concern. Used especially to soften an unpleasant statement: I'm afraid you're wrong. [Middle English affraied, past participle of affraien, to frighten, from Old French esfraier, esfreer, to disturb, of Germanic origin; see prī- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
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