afear

English

Alternative forms

• affear

Etymology

From Middle English aferen (“to frighten, terrify”), from Old English āfǣran (“to terrify, dismay”), from ā- (perfective prefix) + fǣran (“to frighten; to devour, raven”), from fǣr (“sudden danger, calamity, ambush; a blitz”), from Proto-Germanic *fērō (“danger”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to try, dare, risk”).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)

Verb

afear (third-person singular simple present afears, present participle afearing, simple past and past participle afeared)

1. (obsolete or dialectal) To imbue with fear; to affright, to terrify.
   • 1543 June 8, Henry VIII of England, “The Nynthe Article. The Holy Catholike Churche.”, in A Necessary Doctrine and Erudicion for Any Chrysten Man, Set furth by the Kynges Maiestye of Englande, &c., imprinted at London:  […] by Thomas Berthelet, […], →OCLC:

     Moreouer the perfit beleue of this article, worketh in all true chriſten people, aloue to continue in this vnitie, and afeare to be caſte out of the ſame, and it worketh in them that be ſinners and repentant, great comforte, and conſolacion, to obteine remiſſion of ſinne, by vertue of Chriſtes paſſion, and adminiſtracion of his ſacramentes at the miniſters handes, ordained for that purpoſe, [...]

   • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 12, column 2:

     Be not affeard, the Iſle is full of noyſes, / Sounds, and ſweet aires, that giue delight and hurt not.

Derived terms

• afeard

Anagrams

• afare

Spanish

Etymology

From feo (“ugly”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /afeˈaɾ/ [a.feˈaɾ]

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: a‧fe‧ar

Verb

afear (first-person singular present afeo, first-person singular preterite afeé, past participle afeado)

1. (transitive) to make ugly; to uglify

   Antonym: embellecer

2. (transitive) to criticize, denounce

   Synonyms: recriminar, tachar

   • 2021 May 4, Carlos E. Cué, “Ayuso arrasa en Madrid”, in El País‎^[1]:

     La comunidad madrileña ha sido el epicentro de la oposición del PP cuando no está en La Moncloa desde la época de Esperanza Aguirre, que competía con Mariano Rajoy y constantemente le afeaba que no fuera lo suficientemente duro con José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Conjugation

    Conjugation of afear (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			afear
gerund			afeando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		afeado		afeada
		plural		afeados		afeadas
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	afeo	afeastú afeásvos	afea	afeamos	afeáis	afean
	imperfect	afeaba	afeabas	afeaba	afeábamos	afeabais	afeaban
	preterite	afeé	afeaste	afeó	afeamos	afeasteis	afearon
	future	afearé	afearás	afeará	afearemos	afearéis	afearán
	conditional	afearía	afearías	afearía	afearíamos	afearíais	afearían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	afee	afeestú afeésvos2	afee	afeemos	afeéis	afeen
	imperfect (ra)	afeara	afearas	afeara	afeáramos	afearais	afearan
	imperfect (se)	afease	afeases	afease	afeásemos	afeaseis	afeasen
	future1	afeare	afeares	afeare	afeáremos	afeareis	afearen
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		afeatú afeávos	afee	afeemos	afead	afeen
	negative		no afees	no afee	no afeemos	no afeéis	no afeen

¹Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.

    Selected combined forms of afear

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive afear	dative	afearme	afearte	afearle, afearse	afearnos	afearos	afearles, afearse
	accusative	afearme	afearte	afearlo, afearla, afearse	afearnos	afearos	afearlos, afearlas, afearse
with gerund afeando	dative	afeándome	afeándote	afeándole, afeándose	afeándonos	afeándoos	afeándoles, afeándose
	accusative	afeándome	afeándote	afeándolo, afeándola, afeándose	afeándonos	afeándoos	afeándolos, afeándolas, afeándose
with informal second-person singular tú imperative afea	dative	aféame	aféate	aféale	aféanos	not used	aféales
	accusative	aféame	aféate	aféalo, aféala	aféanos	not used	aféalos, aféalas
with informal second-person singular vos imperative afeá	dative	afeame	afeate	afeale	afeanos	not used	afeales
	accusative	afeame	afeate	afealo, afeala	afeanos	not used	afealos, afealas
with formal second-person singular imperative afee	dative	aféeme	not used	aféele, aféese	aféenos	not used	aféeles
	accusative	aféeme	not used	aféelo, aféela, aféese	aféenos	not used	aféelos, aféelas
with first-person plural imperative afeemos	dative	not used	afeémoste	afeémosle	afeémonos	afeémoos	afeémosles
	accusative	not used	afeémoste	afeémoslo, afeémosla	afeémonos	afeémoos	afeémoslos, afeémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative afead	dative	afeadme	not used	afeadle	afeadnos	afeaos	afeadles
	accusative	afeadme	not used	afeadlo, afeadla	afeadnos	afeaos	afeadlos, afeadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative afeen	dative	aféenme	not used	aféenle	aféennos	not used	aféenles, aféense
	accusative	aféenme	not used	aféenlo, aféenla	aféennos	not used	aféenlos, aféenlas, aféense

Derived terms

• afeamiento

 

Further reading

• “afear”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10