What does peur in French mean?

What is the meaning of the word peur in French? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use peur in French.

The word peur in French means fear, fear, have the fright of a lifetime, be afraid, be frightened, be scared, be scared of, be afraid of doing , be frightened of doing , be scared of doing, be afraid + [indicative], be afraid that + [indicative], be scared of the slightest thing, be afraid of the slightest thing, be afraid of heights, be scared stiff of, be terrified of , have a terrible fear of, it is scary, it is frightening, it's scary, it's frightening, for fear of + [gerund], out of fear of + [gerund], for fear of + [gerund], for fear + [indicative], out of fear that + [indicative], be dead scared, be overcome by fear, be frightening, be scary, scare, frighten, scare out of his/her wits, play to be scared, don't scare me, ain't scared, scared to death, Let's not mince words!, out of fear of, for fear of doing, fear in your heart, fear in your belly, fright of your life, irrational fear, phobia, visceral fear, deep-rooted fear, be more scared than hurt, take fright, fearless, without fear and without reproach, frighten yourself, scare yourself, white as a sheet, as white as a sheet. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word peur

fear

nom féminin (angoisse, phobie)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

La peur du noir est très répandue.

Fear of the dark is very widespread.

fear

nom féminin (angoisse, crainte)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

On dit que la peur n'évite pas le danger. Le vertige est la peur de tomber dans le vide.

They say fear doesn't avert danger. Vertigo is the fear of falling from a height.

have the fright of a lifetime

locution verbale (avoir très très peur)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

be afraid, be frightened, be scared

locution verbale (être effrayé)

Sophie ne va pas dans ce quartier la nuit car elle a peur. N'aie pas peur, tout va bien se passer.

Sophie stays away from that area at night as she is afraid. Don't be scared; everything will be OK.

be scared of

locution verbale (être effrayé par)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

Sophie a peur des araignées.

Sophie is scared of spiders.

be afraid of doing , be frightened of doing , be scared of doing

locution verbale (craindre de)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

Ma fille a peur de prendre seule le train tard le soir.

My daughter is afraid of taking the train alone at night.

be afraid + [indicative], be afraid that + [indicative]

locution verbale (craindre que)

La jeune maman avait peur que son fils se fasse mal dans le bac à sable. J'ai peur qu'il ne soit trop tard.

I fear it is too late.

be scared of the slightest thing, be afraid of the slightest thing

locution verbale (s'effrayer de peu)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

Cette femme ne sort jamais le soir car elle a peur d'un rien.

be afraid of heights

locution verbale (être sujet au vertige)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

be scared stiff of

locution verbale (avoir très peur de [qch])

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

Il a une peur bleue des guêpes car il est allergique à leurs piqûres.

be terrified of , have a terrible fear of

locution verbale (être effrayé par)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

Andrée a une peur panique des araignées.

it is scary, it is frightening

(c'est terrifiant)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

it's scary, it's frightening

(c'est inquiétant)

for fear of + [gerund], out of fear of + [gerund]

(de crainte de)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

Elle ne se plaint pas de peur de perdre sa place.

She doesn't complain for fear of losing her job.

for fear of + [gerund], for fear + [indicative], out of fear that + [indicative]

locution adverbiale (de crainte que)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

De peur qu'elle n'arrive en retard à l'examen, sa mère l'a déposée une bonne heure avant.

Lest she be late for the exam, her mother took her there a good hour in advance.

be dead scared

locution verbale (avoir une grande frayeur)

be overcome by fear

locution verbale (s'effrayer, paniquer)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

Ils se sont enfuis car ils étaient pris de peur.

be frightening, be scary

locution verbale (effrayer)

Ce ravin fait peur.

This ravine is scary.

scare, frighten

locution verbale (effrayer [qqn])

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")

Tu lui as fait peur en arrivant dans son dos sans faire de bruit.

You scared her by sneaking up behind her silently.

scare out of his/her wits

(faire très peur à [qqn]) (figurative)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

Le cri du chat m'a fait une peur bleue.

play to be scared

locution verbale (se mettre en danger pour les sensations)

Les adolescents aimaient jouer à se faire peur et se rendaient souvent la nuit dans des maisons abandonnées ou marchaient le long de falaises.

don't scare me, ain't scared

interjection (Chiche !) (colloquial, non-standard)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

scared to death

locution adjectivale (figuré (très apeuré) (figurative)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

Julie était morte de peur avant son entretien.

Let's not mince words!

(n'hésitons pas à dire les choses)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

Tu t'es conduit comme un salaud, n'ayons pas peur des mots !

out of fear of

(par crainte de [qch])

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

Cette jeune fille timide a refusé de passer le test par peur de l'échec.

The shy young girl refused to take the test because she was afraid of failing.

for fear of doing

(par crainte de faire [qch]) (slightly formal)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

Elle ne voulait pas prendre le bébé de son amie dans les bras par peur de le faire tomber.

She didn't want to hold her friend's baby, because she was afraid of dropping him.

fear in your heart, fear in your belly

nom féminin (forte angoisse)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

fright of your life

nom féminin (peur violente) (one-off)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

Charlotte a une peur bleue des araignées. Pierre a eu une peur bleue lorsque sa nacelle s'est détachée.

Charlotte has a terror of spiders.

irrational fear, phobia

nom féminin (phobie)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

Sa peur panique des araignées remonte à l'enfance.

ⓘCette phrase n'est pas une traduction de la phrase originale. I have an irrational fear of spiders.

visceral fear, deep-rooted fear

nom féminin (peur profonde, phobie)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

be more scared than hurt

(les dommages sont finalement limités)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

– Chéri, ça va ? Ça a fait un sacré bruit quand tu es tombé ! – Oui, oui, ça va. Plus de peur que de mal.

'Sweetie, are you OK? That was one heck of a noise when you fell!' 'Yes, yes, I'm fine. I was more scared than hurt.'

take fright

locution verbale (avoir subitement peur)

Quand les habitants ont vu que le feu se propageait de plus en plus vite, ils ont pris peur.

fearless

locution adjectivale (téméraire)

(adjective: Describes a noun or pronoun--for example, "a tall girl," "an interesting book," "a big house.")

Jules est un garçon vaillant et sans peur.

without fear and without reproach

(sans crainte, vaillant)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

Le chevalier Bayard est à l'origine du personnage du chevalier sans peur et sans reproche qui symbolise les valeurs de la chevalerie française de la fin du Moyen Âge.

frighten yourself, scare yourself

(figuré (prendre un risque)

(transitive verb and reflexive pronoun: Transitive verb with reflexive pronoun--for example, "Enjoy yourself." "They behaved themselves.")

white as a sheet, as white as a sheet

locution adjectivale (très effrayé) (pale)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

Sophie est verte de peur rien qu'à l'idée de faire du saut à l'élastique.

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