dread

To feel very afraid or worried about something you expect to happen.

• I dread the next exam.
• She dreaded telling him the news.
• Are you dreading your first day at work?

How to use it: dread doing something (I dread speaking in front of a crowd.)

Similar words: fear

Common phrases: dread something, dread going somewhere, dread the thought, dread the results

Strong fear or worry about something that might happen or that you must face.

• I felt a sudden dread.
• The approaching exam filled him with dread.
• She woke with a sense of dread.

How to use it: dread of something (His dread of failure kept him awake.); dread of doing something (Her dread of getting lost made her study the map.)

Similar words: fear, terror, apprehension

Common phrases: sense of dread, filled with dread, dread of something, overcome with dread

A long, thick strand of hair formed by twisting or letting the hairs join together.

• One dread fell across his face.
• She tied her dreads back before cooking.
• He has several beads in each dread.

Similar words: dreadlock, loc

Common phrases: long dread, thick dread, tie a dread