English Reference
Idiom idiom

I fear

Meaning

Used in apprehension or embarrassment.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Examples
SIMPLE

“I fear I cannot help you with that today.”

CONTEXTUAL

“I fear the train is delayed, so we will arrive at the station much later than planned.”

COMPLEX

“I fear that despite our best efforts to resolve the conflict, the situation remains far more precarious than we initially anticipated.”

Anchors to
Related idioms2entries
  1. 01

    put the fear of God into

    To cause someone to fear abjectly in other contexts; to terrify completely.

  2. 02

    rub the fear of God into

    Alternative form of put the fear of God into.

Last updated August 10, 2026