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afraid of vs afraid to

Both 'afraid of' and 'afraid to' are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'Afraid of' is used to express fear or anxiety about something specific, while 'afraid to' is used to indicate reluctance or hesitation to do something.

Last updated: March 29, 2024

afraid of

Correct. 'Afraid of' is used to express fear or anxiety about something specific.

Use 'afraid of' when you want to talk about the fear or anxiety related to a particular thing or situation.

Examples:

  • She is afraid of spiders.
  • He is afraid of heights.
  • I am afraid of failing.
  • They are afraid of the dark.
  • The child is afraid of dogs.
  • Frankenstein announces that the creature must be afraid of me.
  • Marshal Stalin says the British are afraid of fighting.
  • Mom's afraid of the dark.
  • But the others were afraid of fire.
  • He's not afraid of the flame.
  • People are afraid of these weapons.
  • Every parent is afraid of screwing up.
  • That makes people afraid of us.
  • Ronnie wasn't afraid of anything.
  • I was afraid of dying alone.
  • Europeans should not be afraid of this.
  • Sounds like you were afraid of him.
  • They were afraid of retaliation by city inspectors.
  • Uygur spokesperson says Beijing is afraid of losing its information monopoly.
  • The boy is afraid of me.
  • So people like us won't be afraid of you anymore.
  • And you were afraid of losing me as well.
  • I haven't been afraid of anything
  • I was afraid of living on my own.
  • We're not afraid of anything any more.

Alternatives:

  • scared of
  • terrified of
  • frightened of
  • worried about

afraid to

Correct. 'Afraid to' is used to indicate reluctance or hesitation to do something.

Use 'afraid to' when you want to express fear or reluctance to take a specific action.

Examples:

  • She is afraid to speak in public.
  • He is afraid to ask for help.
  • I am afraid to confront him.
  • They are afraid to try new things.
  • The child is afraid to go to the dentist.
  • Someone strong and not afraid to express emotions.
  • A lot of Dwarves are afraid to show their true feelings.
  • Not afraid to show his wealth.
  • I think our little prom queen is too afraid to disclose.
  • I remember the times I was afraid to come into the house.
  • The cat wasn't afraid to die...
  • I'm always afraid to come in by myself.
  • Papa would like to understand why we're not afraid to fly.
  • I'm not afraid to declare my feelings.
  • Sometimes I'm afraid to build the walls...
  • You are just another weak human afraid to face death.
  • Neech wasn't afraid to die.
  • We're all afraid to die, Xena.
  • Just don't be afraid to speak up when it happens.
  • Maybe she's afraid to show her feelings.
  • People keeping quiet, afraid to speak up.
  • Everything they're afraid to show us in school.
  • I was afraid to touch the death seen in her.
  • You are afraid to tell the truth.
  • He said you weren't afraid to speak the truth.

Alternatives:

  • reluctant to
  • hesitant to
  • scared to
  • unwilling to

Related Comparisons

aware of vs aware that aware of vs Aware about aware of vs aware to worried about vs worried of scared of vs scared by aware of vs aware with

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