Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

for fear of

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.94 in modern English

Syllables: for fear of
IPA

18

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

prep

In order to attempt to prevent the risk of (a particular incident or event occurring).

Example Sentences

"[...] but in the damp conditions prevailing the driver sensibly was unwilling to attempt the climb up through Combe Down tunnel without help, for fear of slipping to a standstill in the unventilated bore, [...]."
"‘Then the father has a great fight with his terrible conscience,’ said Munday with granite seriousness. ‘Should he make a row with the police[…]? Or should he say nothing about it and condone brutality for fear of appearing in the newspapers?’"

Phrases

for fear that

Frequently Paired Words

for fear that

Questions

What does for fear of mean?: In order to attempt to prevent the risk of (a particular incident or event occurring).

How to pronounce for fear of

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “for fear of”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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