Welcome to the latest entry in our series of posts dedicated to basic human emotions, and, more specifically, the English vocabulary we can use to describe them.
We’ve already covered anger and sadness, and today it’s time to explore another essential emotion we’re all familiar with: fear. Happy Halloween! 👻
Fear Scale
| Word | Meaning | Example |
| 🫣 unease (n) uneasy (adj) | a mild, uncomfortable feeling that something is wrong, even if you can’t say exactly what | I felt uneasy walking through a quiet, unfamiliar neighborhood at night. |
| 🫣 apprehension (n) apprehensive (adj) | nervousness or worry about something unpleasant that may happen in the future. | I am always apprehensive before an important test or a job interview. |
| 😟 anxiety (n) anxious (adj) | a stronger or more persistent feeling of worry, nervousness, or uneasiness, often about uncertain future events | The drought has made farmers anxious about the harvest. |
| 😧 fear (n) to fear (v) fearful (adj) | an emotional response to a perceived threat, danger, or harm | Trembling with fear, she handed over the money to the gunman. What do you fear most? I am fearful he will injure himself one of these days. (formal) |
| 😧 fright (n) frightened; frightening (adj) to frighten (v) + something extremely frightening can be referred to as hair-rising (e.g. a hair-rising experience) | the feeling of fear, especially if felt suddenly (1), or an experience of fear that happens suddenly (2) | 1. When the rescue team reached him, he was shaking with fright. 2. You gave me a fright turning the lights out like that. Are you frightened of spiders? The mask was so lifelike it was quite frightening. The noise frightened me to death. |
| 😓 dread (n) to dread (v) dreadful (adj) | a strong feeling of fear or anxiety about something you expect or know is going to happen | He’s dreading the exam – he’s sure he’s going to fail. The prospect of working full-time fills me with dread. The news report was so dreadful that I just had to switch it off. |
| 😨 horror (n) to horrify (v) horrific / horrifying (adj) (= extremely bad and shocking) | an extremely strong feeling of fear and shock (1), or the frightening and shocking character of something (2) | 1. The crowd cried out in horror as the car burst into flames. 2. The population now faces the horrors of starvation. (plural noun) The public was horrified by the amount of pollution in the lake. The report detailed the horrific conditions in the prison. |
| 😱 terror (n) to terrify (v) terrified / terrifying (adj) | extreme fear | They fled from the city in terror. The idea of parachuting out of a plane terrifies me. She’s always been terrified of spiders. It was terrifying to hear someone trying to open the front door in the middle of the night. |
| 😱 petrification (n) to petrify (v) | an extreme state of fear in which you feel frozen or unable to move or react | The sight of the enormous spider left him petrified. She stood there in petrification, unable to move as the footsteps came closer. |
Synonyms For “I’m Afraid”
- I’m scared stiff: I was scared stiff when I heard footsteps behind me.
- I’m scared to death: That horror movie scared me to death.
- I’m frightened out of my wits: I was frightened out of my wits when I realized I was alone.
- I’m shaking like a leaf: I was shaking like a leaf before going into the haunted house.
- I’m freaking out (very informal): I completely freaked out when the lights suddenly went out.
- I’m shaking in my boots: I was shaking in my boots when the boss walked into the room, fuming.
Other Expressions
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| to give someone the creeps | to make someone feel frightened or uncomfortable | That old abandoned house really gives me the creeps. |
| to send shivers down one’s spine | to cause a sudden feeling of fear or excitement | The sound of someone whispering in the dark sent shivers down my spine. |
| to make one’s blood run cold | to frighten or horrify one deeply | The thought of someone watching me from the window made my blood run cold. |
| to have butterflies in one’s stomach | to feel nervous or anxious about something, especially something important | I had butterflies in my stomach before walking onto the stage. |
| to have one’s heart in one’s mouth | to feel extremely nervous or frightened because one is worried about what will happen | I had my heart in my mouth as I watched him climb higher and higher. |
| to jump out of one’s skin | to be extremely startled | I nearly jumped out of my skin when the door suddenly slammed. |
| to scare the living daylights out of someone | to frighten someone very badly | You scared the living daylights out of me! |
| to make one’s hair stand on end | to be terrifying | The eerie voice made my hair stand on end. (= was hair-rising) |
| heart skips a beat | to experience a sudden shock or fright | My heart skipped a beat when I saw a shadow behind me. |
| to make one’s skin crawl | to make one feel extremely uncomfortable, disgusted, or frightened | The sight of hundreds of spiders made my skin crawl. |
Halloween Night
Read the text below to see how some of the vocabulary from this post is naturally used in context.
It was Halloween night, and I was walking home alone after a party. The streets were unusually quiet, and the fog made it difficult to see more than a few meters ahead. I started to feel a little uneasy, as if someone was watching me.
Then I heard footsteps behind me.
I turned around, but there was no one there. The sound stopped, and I could feel shivers running down my spine. I tried to convince myself that it was nothing, but when I heard the footsteps again, I started freaking out.
Suddenly, a figure appeared at the end of the street. I froze. My heart skipped a beat, and the sight of the mysterious figure made my blood run cold.
It slowly started walking toward me.
I was scared stiff. I wanted to run, but I couldn’t move. Then, just as the figure came closer, it shouted, “Trick or treat!”
It was a ten-year-old kid in a ridiculously scary costume.
I nearly jumped out of my skin, and then burst out laughing. What a Halloween night!
We must have left out at least a dozen other great expressions related to fear in one form or another. Can you think of any we missed? Feel free to share your favorites in the comments below!
