afear

• affear

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”).

• Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)

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.

• afeard

• afare

From feo (“ugly”).

• IPA^(key): /afeˈaɾ/ [a.feˈaɾ]

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

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

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:

     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)

• “afear”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014