Arabic word sheet
خَافَ
To be afraid
- Type
- verb
- Root
- خ و ف
Meaning and usage
To be afraid
To feel fear, to be frightened. It is said of a person or an animal that feels threatened by a danger.
خَافَ الطِّفْلُ فِي الظَّلَامِ.
The child was afraid in the dark.
To fear someone or something
To be afraid of a particular person, animal or thing. What one dreads is then named.
خَافَتْ سَلْمَى الْكَلْبَ الْكَبِيرَ.
Salma was afraid of the big dog.
To fear for someone
To worry about what might happen to a person or a thing one cares about. It is said of the concern one feels for another.
خَافَتِ الْأُمُّ عَلَى ابْنِهَا مِنَ الْبَرْدِ.
The mother feared the cold for her son.
To fear that, to expect
To think that something unwelcome is likely to happen. It is said when one holds a trouble to be probable without being sure of it.
خَافَ رَامِي أَنْ يَتَأَخَّرَ الْقِطَارُ.
Rami feared that the train would be late.
Word family
What the root means خ و ف
The root carries the idea of fear, of fright in the face of a danger. From it come fear itself, the one who is afraid, frightening someone and what is frightening.
fear
afraid, frightened
خَائِفٌ
to frighten
خَوَّفَ
to scare
أَخَافَ
frightening
مُخِيفٌ
dread
مَخَافَةٌ
Synonyms
to be struck with fright
فَزِعَ
It names a sudden, sharp fright, whereas the headword also covers a calm, lasting fear.
to dread
خَشِيَ
More formal; it names a considered fear that comes from what one knows of the thing dreaded.
Opposites
to feel safe
أَمِنَ