dreaded
Causing great apprehension
Dreaded describes something regarded with great fear or apprehension: the dreaded phone call finally came, my dreaded in-laws are visiting.
The word often carries a touch of hyperbole or dark humor, dramatizing ordinary unpleasantness: the dreaded Monday morning meeting, the dreaded blank page.
Extreme, overwhelming fear
- horrorExtreme fear or disgust
- frightSudden intense fear
- panicUncontrollable sudden fear
- phobiaPersistent irrational dread
nightmare · petrified · shudder · alarming · chilling · spine-tingling · creepy · fearsome
Threateningly suggestive of harm
- menacingConveying threat or danger
- threateningExpressing intent to harm
- portentousOminously significant
- darkAbsence of light
gloomy · foreboding · ominous · dire · grim · fateful · baleful · doom
Nervous anticipation of trouble
- trepidationFearful uncertainty
- forebodingFearful anticipation of harm
- premonitionAdvance sense of future events
- uneaseMild persistent worry
anxiety · worry · nervousness · angst · jitters · disquiet · edginess · anxiousness
Inspiring fear or unease
- dauntingDiscouraging through difficulty
- imposingImpressively grand in scale
- fearsomeCausing intense alarm
- formidableInspiring fear or respect
challenging · overwhelming · insurmountable · notorious · infamous · legendary · storied · renowned
Act of escaping detection
- shunnedPersistently avoided socially
- sidesteppedAvoided by moving aside
- dodgedAvoided by quick movement
- circumventedEvaded by going around
eschewed · postponed · procrastinated · evaded · avoided · deflected · shirked · put off
terror
Extreme, overwhelming fear
phobia · nightmare · petrified · shudder · alarming · chilling · spine-tingling · creepy · fearsome · ghastly
sinister
Threateningly suggestive of harm
- menacingConveying threat or danger
- threateningExpressing intent to harm
- portentousOminously significant
dark · gloomy · foreboding · ominous · dire · grim · fateful · baleful · doom · shadow
apprehension
Nervous anticipation of trouble
- trepidationFearful uncertainty
- forebodingFearful anticipation of harm
- premonitionAdvance sense of future events
unease · anxiety · worry · nervousness · angst · jitters · disquiet · edginess · anxiousness · impending
intimidating
Inspiring fear or unease
- dauntingDiscouraging through difficulty
- imposingImpressively grand in scale
- fearsomeCausing intense alarm
formidable · challenging · overwhelming · insurmountable · notorious · infamous · legendary · storied · renowned · fabled
evasion
Act of escaping detection
- shunnedPersistently avoided socially
- sidesteppedAvoided by moving aside
- dodgedAvoided by quick movement
circumvented · eschewed · postponed · procrastinated · evaded · avoided · deflected · shirked · put off · delayed
- scary feelingsterrified, frightening, creepiness, goosebumps, bone-chilling
dreadedanticipated
Expected in advance
longed-for · hoped-for · desired · looked forward to · wanted
- existential dreadTerror at meaningless being
- creeping dreadSlowly intensifying fearful anticipation
- something dreadfulTerrible occurrence or entity
- penny dreadfulCheap Victorian crime serial
- dread fascinationAttraction mixed with horror
- most dreadful
dread, dreadful, dreadfully, dreadlocks, dreading, dreads, dreadnought, dreadfulness