# dread

> English word · Verb · IPA /dɹɛd/ · frequency rank #12,227

## Definitions
1. To fear greatly.
2. To anticipate with fear.
3. To be in dread, or great fear.
4. To style (the hair) into dreadlocks.

## Etymology
From Middle English dreden, from Old English drǣdan (“to fear, dread”), aphetic form of ondrǣdan (“to fear, dread”), from Proto-West Germanic *andarādan, equivalent to Old English and- + rǣdan (whence read); corresponding to an aphesis of earlier adread.
Akin to Old Saxon antdrādan, andrādan (“to fear, dread”), Old High German intrātan (“to fear”), Middle High German entrāten (“to fear, dread, frighten”).

## Easily confused with
- **drew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dread-vs-drew)
- **dyed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dread-vs-dyed)
- **dream** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dread-vs-dream)
- **dress** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dread-vs-dress)
- **dried** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dread-vs-dried)
- **droid** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dread-vs-droid)
- **druid** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dread-vs-druid)
- **dregs** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dread-vs-dregs)
- **dreams** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dread-vs-dreams)
- **dreamt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dread-vs-dreamt)
- **dreamy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dread-vs-dreamy)
- **dreary** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dread-vs-dreary)
- **dreads** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dread-vs-dreads)
- **dreamed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dread-vs-dreamed)
- **dreaded** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dread-vs-dreaded)
- **dad** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dad-vs-dread)
- **Dre** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dre-vs-dread)
- **DEA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dea-vs-dread)
- **ded** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ded-vs-dread)
- **deal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deal-vs-dread)

## Common misspellings (7)
`ddread`, `derad`, `draed`, `dreadd`, `dreda`, `drread`, `rdead`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/dread