The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - dread v.

1) fear, be afraid of, apprehend, anticipate, flinch, shrink or recoil from, cringe or quail or blench or wince at, view with horror or alarm: She dreads any kind of surgery. --n. 2) fear, fright, fearfulness, trepidation, apprehension, apprehensiveness, uneasiness, anticipation, alarm, nervousness, qualm, queasiness, misgiving, dismay, worry, anxiety, consternation, concern, distress, perturbation, disquiet, aversion, horror, terror, panic, Colloq cold feet, butterflies (in the stomach) , the jitters; Slang the heebie-jeebies, the willies, the collywobbles: I regarded the history exam with dread. --adj. 3) feared, dreaded, dreadful, terrifying, terrible: Before us, breathing fire, was the dread dragon of the Druids.