afraid

/əˈfɹeɪd/

//əˈfɹeɪd// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"afraid" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“afraid” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,027. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,027
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Impressed with fear or apprehension; in fear.

Corpus desk

Index EN-afraid · afraid · English

afraid · rank #2,027 · 8 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,027
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH arts

Nearest frequency peer: arts (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “afraid”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “afraid” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

afraid vs arid
67% similar
afraid vs Afridi
50% similar
afraid vs affair
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for afraid
PropertyValue
Headwordafraid
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/əˈfɹeɪd/
Letters6
Frequency rank#2,027
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “afraid”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).afraidlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “arts” (#2,028), “warm” (#2,025), “beer” (#2,029). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “afraid” is #2,027. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around afraid (IPA /əˈfɹeɪd/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #2,027 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for afraid, with forms such as "afarid", "affraid", and "afradi". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "arid", "Afridi", "affair", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English affrayed, affraied, past participle of afraien (“to affray”), from Anglo-Norman afrayer (“to terrify, disquiet, disturb”), from Old French effreer, esfreer (“to disturb, remove the peace from”), from es- (“out”) + freer (“to secure, secu… The correct English form is afraid, spelled A-F-R-A-I-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Impressed with fear or apprehension; in fear.
  2. 2
    Regretful, sorry; expressing a reluctance to face an unpleasant situation.
  3. 3
    Worried about, feeling concern for, fearing for (someone or something).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how afraid appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. He is afraid of death.
  2. He is afraid to ask her out.

Etymology

From Middle English affrayed, affraied, past participle of afraien (“to affray”), from Anglo-Norman afrayer (“to terrify, disquiet, disturb”), from Old French effreer, esfreer (“to disturb, remove the peace from”), from es- (“out”) + freer (“to secure, secure the peace”), from Frankish *friþu (“security, peace”), from Proto-Germanic *friþuz (“peace”), from Proto-Germanic *frijōną (“to free; to love”), from Proto-Indo-European *prāy-, *prēy- (“to like, love”). By surface analysis, affray + -ed. Compare also afeard. More at free, friend.

Synonyms

afearedafraidalarmedanxiousapprehensivechickenconcernedcreeped outfearfulfrightenedfrithorrifiedmortifiedpanickedscaredshockedstartledterrifiedtimorousworriedwary

Antonyms

bravecalmunafraid

This word in other languages

asustado(Español)effrayé(Français)ängstlich(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • afarid
  • affraid
  • afradi
  • afraidd
  • afriad
  • afrraid
  • arfaid
  • faraid

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of afraid - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

afarid2affraid1afradi2afraidd1afriad2afrraid1arfaid2faraid2
Edit distance from "afraid"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "afraid"?
"afraid" is spelled A-F-R-A-I-D. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈfɹeɪd/.
What does "afraid" mean?
As an adjective, "afraid" means: Impressed with fear or apprehension; in fear.
What words are commonly confused with "afraid"?
"afraid" is commonly confused with "arid", "Afridi", "affair". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "afraid"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "afraid" is /əˈfɹeɪd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "afraid"?
From Middle English affrayed, affraied, past participle of afraien (“to affray”), from Anglo-Norman afrayer (“to terrify, disquiet, disturb”), from Old French effreer, esfreer (“to disturb, remove the peace from”), from es- (“out”) + freer (“to se... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "afraid", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

border#2,030dating#2,035ensure#2,039filled#2,041

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

crowd8 variantsremove8 variantsforest8 variantslabour8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list