ENGLISH
REFERENCE

put the fear of God into

idiom
Meaning

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


Examples
SIMPLE

The teacher put the fear of God into the noisy students.

CONTEXTUAL

The strict manager put the fear of God into the team when he discovered the major error in their report.

COMPLEX

The sudden, thunderous warning from the captain put the fear of God into the inexperienced crew, forcing them to focus entirely on the dangerous task ahead.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    bow down before the porcelain god

    Synonym of worship the porcelain god (“to vomit into a toilet bowl”).

  2. 02

    call someone everything but a child of God

    To call someone many abusive names.

  3. 03

    God forbid

    indicating that the occurrence of something is very undesirable

  4. 04

    God forfend

    Don't let it be.

  5. 05

    God is in the detail

    Expresses the idea that whatever one does should be done thoroughly; i.e. details are important.

  6. 06

    god that failed

    A notable let-down or flop; a concept, product, or person that has failed to live up to very high expectations.

  7. 07

    good God

    Expression of surprise, outrage, or horror.

  8. 08

    hand to God

    Used when admitting something which might not be believed.

© 2026 English Reference